The More Things Change
by Aaron12
Summary: Kim and Ron kick off their college days with a few unexpected twists, including a new Dean for Ron's school, and the arrival of a magical new hero that could make Team Possible stronger than ever. But as his secrets are revealed and a past evil rises to destroy him, will this newcomer's arrival be a blessing...or a curse? And is he REALLY Shego's ex-boyfriend?
1. Chapter 1

Kim Possible: The More Things Change…

Part 1

By Aaron

For any teenager starting college, no matter what school they go to or what classes they take, the first day always lends itself to an intense feeling of excitement and anticipation. And for those attending Middleton Community College, there was no exception. Between a humming campus with bustling students and buildings housing laboratories, classes, shops and gyms of every sort, it made one truly feel as though absolutely anything could happen. Of course, in the case of Kim Possible, "anything" was pretty much par for the course. Not to mention that Middleton Community College was going to be where Ron Stoppable's post secondary studies would be held, not hers. Still, as Kim stood at the gates, she was reminded of the thrill she had felt just a few hours before as she stepped onto her London university campus for the first time. And thinking about what Ron had to look forward to in just a few short moments, she felt that same thrill returning to her as she looked to the future with a bright optimism and wondered just what might lay ahead in this new chapter of their lives.

"Come on Ron. I hate to rush you, but I have to be back at classes in 45 minutes…Ron?" Kim looked over her shoulder to see only a crowd of strangers unloading from the campus bus just in front of her car. Perplexed, her eyes scanned the immediate area for any trace of him. That is, until Ron slid past her through the gates, nearly spiraling her over!

"Oh yeah! MCC!" He announced boldly, stretching his arms and breathing deeply to take in the whole experience, "I'm here! I'm here! Let the bells ring out and the banners fly! Hey Rufus, wake up buddy! Check out our new digs!"

Just then, a tiny yawn could be heard as a familiar pink rodent poked his sleepy head out of Ron's cargo pocket. Rubbing his eyes briefly, Rufus quickly scurried up Ron's body to perch on his shoulder and see the sights.

"Wow!" the naked mole rat chirped as the full impact of the campus hit home.

"You like?" Ron replied, pulling out a campus map, "Oh, this is gonna be great, buddy! You've gotta see everything they've got here. And the best part is, even though it IS a little farther from home, it's still completely Bueno Nacho accessible…an absolute necessity."

"Mmmmmmyumyumyumyumyum," Rufus rubbed his belly in approval.

"Well, someone's in a good mood today," Kim noted, sliding under Ron's arm and wrapping her arm around his waist.

"And how could I not be, Kim?" Ron answered dramatically, "Here I am, an eager young man taking his first steps onto the grounds of a noble learning institution with a mind thirsting for knowledge."

"Uh huh," Kim replied, rolling her eyes, "This coming from the same 'eager young man' who more than a hundred times was quoted comparing high school to the Spanish Inquisition."

"All in a past life, KP," Ron proclaimed confidently, "Like a Phoenix, rising from the ashes, Ron Stoppable has been reborn. No longer the lowly high school student, I now stand before you as 'Ron Stoppable: College Man'."

"Riiiiiiiight," Kim noted, feeling slightly amused in spite of her dismissive tone.

"Yeah, you know, the more I think about it, the more I realize that high school wasn't really for me," Ron continued to muse.

"Not really for you, huh?" Kim noted raising a curious eyebrow.

"You know it," Ron announced, "I mean, where was the freedom? HAVE to take this class, HAVE to take that class, HAVE to do this, HAVE to do that. WAAAYYY to stifling for THIS free spirit. But now, all that is behind me. Here, my decisions are my own, wild and untamed. I finally get to be my own Ron."

"Uh huh, not to mention the fact that there's almost nobody here who would remember you from high school, right?" Kim asked with a sly grin.

"Yeah, I like to think of that as a fringe benefit," Ron replied dryly as Rufus nodded in approval.

It didn't take the pair long to find their way to the main building and direct themselves to where Ron's first class was going to be. Plenty of time for Kim to get him there and still jet back to London to continue her first day. Although as they walked along, she couldn't help but feel Ron squeeze her hand just a little bit tighter.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Hmmm? Oh…yeah. It's nothing KP," Ron replied, although the faraway look in his eyes told a much different story.

"It's just that…?" Kim started, opening for Ron to finish what was really on his mind. After so many years, she knew him much better than that.

"Aw, it's stupid," Ron answered, "I guess I'm just…gonna miss seeing you in class, that's all."

"Ron, we've been over this already. I thought you said you were fine with it."

"I know, I know! I am!" Ron instantly backpedaled before hanging his head slightly, "Really, I am. I'm just…not all the way there yet."

"Oh Ron, it's okay," Kim said assuredly, gently sliding her hand down his cheek to get his attention, "There's a six-hour time difference between here and London. On most days, my classes will be finished before you even start lunch. You've got a two-hour lunch break and then we've got a few hours in the afternoon and evening…"

"Two hour lunch break," Ron sighed blissfully, losing his focus for the moment, "Is there any sweeter term in the history of spoken language?"

"Mmmmmm," Rufus squeaked, licking his chops.

"My point is…you and I are still going to be able to see each other a lot. And I mean A LOT. So don't worry. It's going to be fine, okay?" Kim continued, gently wrapping her arms around Ron's neck. Ron meanwhile, had to admit, she was making a pretty strong case. And he seemed a lot more at ease as he and Kim moved in closer and hugged each other warmly.

"Thanks Kim," Ron said contentedly, cuddling with her for a brief moment before putting on a determined face, "Okay…I think I'm ready now. Starting right now, Ron Stoppable's clean slate begins today!"

"Uh huh," Kim noted with a suspicious look, "Just as long as this isn't the same kind of clean slate as a certain Spring Break trip down to Florida, okay?"

"Kim…you wound me," Ron replied, clutching his heart before tossing her a warm smile, "I mean, why would I even THINK about going for other girls when the perfect one is already standing right in front of me?"

"Ooooooo, nice save," Kim noted affectionately, gently tightening her arms around Ron's neck and leaning in. It was at that moment that things started to heat up. She'd originally meant to give him just a little peck on the lips to tide him over until she met him at lunch. But once the kiss started, they both found themselves slowly melting into it as Ron instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and they pulled each other close. From there, the kiss deepened and it was as if everything else just disappeared. Even Rufus, who was polite enough to turn his head away while the moment played out, went ignored. Only the soft depth of the kiss, the warmth of the embrace and the sound of their breathing seemed to have meaning. Until suddenly…

"A-HEM!" the abrupt baritone voice boomed through the air, yanking the pair back to reality. Not so much from its volume, but from a tone that seemed eerily too well-known to both of them. Their lips still locked together, Kim and Ron's eyes snapped open like shutter blinds, slowly panning up to greet an all-too familiar hulking mass towering over them just mere inches away.

"Excuse me. If I might ask…don't you two have someplace you need to be?"

"Mr. Barkin?!" Kim was definitely surprised to see their old substitute teacher loose in the halls of Ron's new college campus, although she was more curious than alarmed. Just the sight of him was enough to make Rufus swallow hard and dive back into the safety of Ron's pocket without so much as a peep. Ron however, trembling behind Kim, was the one member of the group who had no intention of voicing his feelings that quietly.

"Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-whaaaaat?! What IS this?! Wha-what are you doing here?! This is…!!" Ron seemed unable to shake his fit of uncontrollable stammering and looked well on going into full panic mode, until a moment of clarity instantly clicked into him, "Hey, wait a minute! What ARE you doing here?! I'm not in high school anymore! Your powers are useless against me!"

"Yeah!" Rufus chirped, suddenly feeling a lot braver as he popped his head defiantly out of Ron's pocket.

"Hm, you must be Ron Stoppable," Barkin replied in his usual calm but gruff demeanor, "I think you've mistaken me for someone else."

"Huh? Okay, Kim? I'm confused now," Ron and Kim exchanged perplexed glances until one of the secretaries from the campus head office came trotting down the steps toward them.

"Oh, excuse me," she said in a quiet, chirpy voice, "I'm sorry Dean Barkin, but you left the office so suddenly, I wasn't able to get these forms to you for your signature."

"DEAN!!!" Neither Kim nor Ron could disguise their unified shock. Particularly Ron, as the color drained from his face.

"Uh oh!" Rufus squeaked as he dove back into Ron's pocket.

"Pardon me a moment," Barkin declared, as he calmly signed the papers on the secretary's clipboard, "Let's see now…Ke-vin…Bar-kin…"

"Wait a minute," Kim thought out loud, "KEVIN Barkin?"

"That's right. You must be thinking about my cousin, Steve. People get us confused all the time," Barkin replied as he finished off the papers a few pen strokes later, allowing him to turn his attention back to a still-paralyzed Ron once the secretary had walked off.

"And for the record, he gave me fair warning when he found out you were coming here," he whispered, staring Ron down, "So don't think I won't be keeping an eye on you."

With that, the new Barkin turned on his heels and started back into the main building, leaving the pair in stunned silence. It took a few moments for Kim to shake off the surprise of this truly unexpected turn of events. But as she looked over, it was instantly clear that Ron wasn't taking the news nearly half as well as he stood trembling beside her, his face pale and his eye twitching.

"Ron? Ron? Come on Ron," Kim spoke to him soothingly, holding his face in her hands and trying to get him to focus on her, "It's okay, Baby. It's okay. Come on, it's okay."

"…nonononoNoNoNoNoNONONONONO!" Ron's voice rose to a full blown panicked scream as he ranted around Kim," NO! NO! NO! THIS IS WRONG! SICK AND WRONG! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! IT'S…! IT…! AAAH!"

BAM!!!

Lost in a fit of tantrum, Ron threw his fist out on instinct. But Kim's eyes went wide in shock as she heard what sounded like a gunshot going off behind her. Of course, she didn't have to turn around to see what happened. She had a pretty good idea.

"Ron," she stated as her face flashed an irritated look, "You just punched a hole in the wall, didn't you?"

"Uh, eee…I…no," Ron blurted out as he quickly pulled his fist out, desperately trying to beat off and blow off the concrete dust. At the same time, Rufus was attempting to use the outside bushes to the 12-inch deep hole, desperately trying to cover up the fact that Ron had momentarily let control of his Mystical Monkey Power slip. Kim meanwhile, could only roll her eyes before turning to Ron with a heavy sigh.

* * *

It was only a 15 minutes past noon inside the aisles of Smarty Mart as Steve Barkin was finishing the last of the new displays for assembly. Just one more can to go and the pyramid of soup cans for the Brain Storm sale would be complete. And as he stood on top of the stepladder, his arm couldn't help but tremble slightly as he stretched out to place the final can on the very top…

"YOU!!!" a shrill yell shook the aisles, nearly causing Barkin to lose his balance on the stepladder. Flailing wildly, he managed to keep both his balance and the final can in his hands, breathing an instant sigh of relief that the display wasn't ruined. But his troubles were far from over as he turned to see Ron at the other end of the aisle with Rufus perched on his shoulder, both glaring at him in rage.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!"

"Stoppable! What are you bellowing about?!" Barkin shouted, getting angry himself as he thought about what could have just happened to the display he'd so painstakingly built. But Ron couldn't have cared less as he stomped down the hall in a complete frenzy.

"Don't be coy with me! I know all about the Dean at MCC! Or should I say…your cousin?" Ron shot back, with Rufus jumping up and down on his shoulder, chatting angrily, "What did you say to him?!"

"Oh, I might have given him a word or two of warning," Barkin replied, dwarfing Ron with his massive frame, "Now listen, Stoppable. Middleton Community College is a fine post-secondary institution with a proud record of achievement. And NO one is going to disrupt that if I have anything to say about it. LEAST of all, a former student of mine."

"You know what, Dude?" Ron stated angrily, clearly not satisfied with Barkin's answer, "When it came to you in high school, I let a LOT of things slide, but THIS…?"

"YOU let things slide?! EXCUSE ME?!" Bark hollered back.

"Ron!" Kim's voice sounded off as she came running down the aisle to catch Ron and Rufus facing Barkin in a heated staredown, "What are you doing here? I thought I was meeting you at Bueno Nacho for lunch once my classes were done."

"Have you considered a shock training collar?" Barkin muttered under his breath.

"Don't you even think about starting!" Kim snapped back, "It's YOUR fault he's acting like this, anyway!"

"I don't think I need to explain my actions to someone who's not even taking college in this country, Possible," Barkin retaliated.

"People, people!" a new voice sounded off down the aisle, followed by a pair of shrill claps, "What is all this disharmony?"

Suddenly, the entire scene ground to a halt as all four parties looked over curiously. What they saw, standing just a few feet away, was a tall, thin man with short brown hair, appearing to be in his late 20s. His simple slacks and shirt with the rolled up sleeves showed a rather casual look, regardless of the shiny black cane with the round silver head under his arm.

"All this shouting can really bring down a guy's mellow," the stranger replied as he walked over, shifting his gaze from Kim to Ron to Barkin, "Hi…Kim Possible, right? And Ron Stoppable…and you…well, you I couldn't care less about."

Rufus couldn't help but giggle in amusement as Barkin flashed an irritated frown in the stranger's direction. But Kim couldn't help but feel much more curious than amused at the moment.

"And you know who we are because…?" she asked.

"Well, I COULD say it's because I'm one of those obsessed stalker fans who's seen you guys on TV. But the truth is, I know pretty much everything about every student at Middleton Community College," The stranger replied, which even made Kim and Ron more curious before he immediately offered up his hand, "Oh, but I'm being rude, aren't I? Should at least introduce myself first. The name's Maximillion Ambro. You can call me Max. Yeah, I'm the new Campus Counselor at MCC."

"Oh no. Kim, it's worse than I thought," Ron found himself starting to panic again, "That other Barkin's moving faster than I thought. Don't you see what's going on here? SPIES!!! SPIES EVERYWHERE!!!"

"Ron…!" Kim scolded. Maximillion, meanwhile, couldn't seem to resist laughing out loud as he twirled his can before whipping it over his shoulder.

"Okay, YOU I like already," he commented, still chuckling, "So…you guys are going to lunch, huh? Mind if I tag along? I got money. I can cover my end."

"Actually, lunch might not be a bad idea," Kim replied, eager to put a stop to the confrontation as she gently hugged Ron's arm, "Come on, Ron. Let's go get something to eat."

"THIS ISN'T OVER!!!" Ron screamed, shaking his fist in Barkin's direction as Kim dragged him off. Max, meanwhile, only stood and offered a cheerful grin as Barkin walked up behind him.

"He's lucky you stepped in," Barkin muttered over his shoulder. But Max simply responded with a lighthearted chuckle, drawing a curious look from Barkin until Max looked back over his shoulder, flashing a wicked smirk.

"YOU'RE lucky I didn't let him kill you," he replied grimly before calmly strolling down the aisle to the main doors. But outside, Ron's frame of mind was nowhere near as stable as he furiously paced outside.

"This is a travesty of justice!" Ron cried out to the heavens, lost in another fit, "This simply CANNOT be allowed to happen! Something HAS to be done…! AAH!"

"RON!!! MMP!!!" Kim shouted to get his attention as she threw her body in between him and the wall of Smarty Mart. It was only then that Ron snapped out of his tantrum and noticed his arm pulled across his chest, his fist tightening. He was about to throw out another punch in anger without even realizing it. And if what had happened on campus that morning was any indication…

"Oh," he blurted out, trying to calm himself down, "Sorry."

"Ron, come here," Kim beckoned soothingly as she put her hands on his shoulders and led him to a nearby bench. Sitting him down, she softly leaned her head on his shoulder as she took Ron's hand in hers and gently hugged him with her free arm.

"Oh Baby, I know this isn't what you had in mind. But you've got to try and relax," she sighed, sitting back up and looking at him with a concerned gaze, "I can't be around to calm you down all the time now. And honestly, I don't think you can afford the repair bills."

"I know," Ron found himself sighing as well as he hung his head. Just then, he felt Kim hug him just a little bit tighter, following with a feathery kiss on his cheek.

"Look, tell you what," she stated with a more determined voice than before, "Why don't you come over to my place tonight for a couple of hours? We'll curl up on the couch, we'll put on a movie, we'll log in a little makeout time and tomorrow will be a new day. Does that sound like a plan to you?"

Ron was still hanging his head, but it would be hard to not notice a faint smile beginning to form on across his face. The thought of an evening with Kim definitely seemed to be lifting his spirits, if only just a little. And whether or not the effect would be long term didn't seem to matter at that particular moment.

"I think I can go along with that," he finally replied with a little shrug. Still, there was a certain shyness in the way his body moved, as if he was trying not to seem to eager. But a moment later, he felt Kim's hand fold over both of his as her other hand moved from Ron's shoulder to gently slide a finger under his chin.

"Hey," she called to him under her breath as she looked into his eyes with a playful smile, "Love you."

Ron HAD to smile back at that point. At that moment, any lingering anxiety had been completely washed away. And as found himself unable to look away from Kim's soft gaze, it seemed as if everything was truly right with the world. But then, seeing Kim smile always seemed to have that effect on him.

"Love you too," he replied, gently pressing his forehead to hers.

"Aaawww," Rufus chirped, feeling touched by the moment. And Kim and Ron needed no further encouragement as they leaned in for a soft kiss…

"WHAT was THAT?!?!" a powerful shout instantly shattered the moment as Kim and Ron whipped their heads over to see Maximillion Ambro storming out the Smarty Mart doors, "His COUSIN?! Are you KIDDING?! I have heard of the shallow end of the gene pool, okay? But that was just…WHOA!!!"

Kim and Ron instantly flashed each other a concerned gaze, neither of them sure what to think after seeing this man who was perfectly calm and collected not two minutes ago suddenly become completely unhinged! But then, as quickly as it came, the tantrum subsided as Max suddenly reverted back to his content demeanor, taking a moment to straighten out his shirt.

"Okay, I'm cool, I'm calm, I'm good. Just had to get that out of my system," he stated gently, twirling his cane and whipping it over his shoulder before looking over at Kim and Ron with a toothy grin, "So…I'm parched. You guys want something to drink first?"

* * *

Kim and Ron could only sit in silence at the table in the coffee shop as Maximillion was at the counter making his order. He'd barely said two words since leaving Smarty Mart, making Kim a little apprehensive as to who exactly this stranger was who had suddenly invited himself to be a part of their day.

"Got anything Wade?" she whispered, keeping the Kimmunicator hidden under the table.

"It's strange. My scans usually come up with more. But I've got his file from the MCC computers right here. He's legit, all right," Wade stated, "Graduated from Go University with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. He was also the Counselor at Upperton High last year. He had great results with a lot of the problem kids there. He was hired on to Middleton Community College over the summer."

"Oh great. 'Problem kids.' What does THAT say when he's coming for ME right away?" Ron said, sulking.

"Ron, at least we know he's the real deal, so don't let it get you down," Kim noted, putting her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"So…done checking up on me yet or do you still need a few more minutes?" Max's lighthearted voice sounded off behind them, making their hearts skip.

"Oh…well, uh…we were just…," a startled Kim stammered as she whipped the Kimmunicator behind her back. Max, however, simply chuckled in response.

"Aw, relax. Perfectly understandable precaution, I'm down with it," he answered dismissively before pausing to take a sip of the tea he'd ordered, "Haaaaaaaah, MUCH better. Got hooked on this stuff a few years back when I was in England for a couple months. Really don't know where I'd be without it today."

"Uuuuh huh," was all Kim managed to get out as she and Ron sat, exchanging glances.

"But…back to the matter at hand," Max stated with another long sip before turning his attention over to Ron, "You know kid, I've really gotta tell you, I'm not entirely certain that picking a fight with ol' Steve-O back there was really the best way to find a solution to your problem."

Max paused for another sip of tea before he suddenly flashed a thoughtful look.

"Although, come to think of it…what IS the problem anyway?"

"Well, let's just say that the Ron Stoppable/Steve Barkin relationship has been…complicated over the years," Kim replied, unsure of exactly what answer to give.

"'Complicated'? 'Complicated'?! Kim, do I REALLY need to break out the file?" Ron objected, turning his attention over to Max, "Dude, I have got a file folder on him at home…"

"…as thick as a phone book that you've been keeping since the ninth grade," Kim cut Ron off, rolling her eyes as she propped her elbow on the table to hold her head up, "You still think he called that Fire Drill during lunch on Cheese Pizza Day in the 10th Grade just because you corrected him on what chapter we were on during English Class that day?"

"Prove me wrong, Kim!" Ron argued back.

"Okay…so there's been a little friction," Max interrupted, cutting off any debate, "But you're not his student anymore, so what's the problem now?"

"Dude, you don't understand!" Ron protested, "This is a matter of principle! I've already given a Barkin four years of my life! I served my time! Haven't I been punished enough?! WHAT ABOUT MY CLEAN SLATE?!?!"

"Okay, Okay, point taken," Kim replied, flashing him a stern glance, "But was it absolutely necessary for you to scream in terror when your professor introduced his cousin to address one of your classes this morning?"

"How did you find out about that?" Ron gasped. Kim, meanwhile, simply rolled her eyes in response as Max gave a small chuckle.

"I don't know. I don't think I'd worry about him if I were you," he replied calmly, taking another sip of his tea, "I mean, come on, you're in college now, master of your own destiny. You don't have to listen to a single thing he tells you. And he doesn't have the authority to tell you what to do anyway."

"Don't you see? It's enough that I know he's THERE!" Ron exclaimed, his squinting eyes darting suspiciously left and right, "Even now, I can FEEL him watching me, biding his time. Just waiting for me to slip up even for an instant and then…BAM!!! He'll be all over me!"

Upon hearing his words, Rufus immediately shivered in dread, while Kim merely rolled her eyes. Max, meanwhile, simply gave a thoughtful gaze before speaking.

"So…these Barkin boys have become like…what, your own little harbingers of doom, is that it? Getting you worried that something's going to go wrong?" he stated with an analytical tone, "Hmmm, okay. But…what exactly HAS gone wrong?"

Ron didn't reply at first. He only stared blankly for a moment as if he didn't understand the question.

"…Excuse me?"

"Well, I don't know, but it seems to me that looking at where you are, you've quite a bit going for you," Max continued, "You're in a good college with a shot at a good future. You've got the girl of your dreams hanging off your arm that even a blind man can see is TOTALLY crazy about you. And then you two have that whole 'saving-the-world' thing going on. I mean, come on, you're going to tell me THAT'S not fun? Call me crazy, but from where I'm standing, I'd say life's dealt you a pretty good hand. Maybe what you ought to think about doing is focus on what's going RIGHT instead of worrying about what HASN'T gone WRONG."

Again, there was no immediate response from Ron. He simply found himself staring out into space again as Maximillion's words slowly began to sink in.

"Huh!" was all he managed to finally blurt out. Kim, meanwhile, immediately took note as Ron suddenly seemed very thoughtful.

"Wow," she noted with a somewhat surprised tone, "You ARE good."

"Well, it's not hard once you understand the position," Max said with a shrug, "I mean hey, I used to BE him. I can understand what he's going through."

With that, Max paused for another sip of his tea, but gave a curious look as he suddenly pulled the cup from his lips.

"Hm! Although right now it looks like what I am for the most part is empty," he added, turning his cup upside down and giving it a brief shake, "Guess I'm gonna have to go back for a refill."

Max then rose from his chair, but he paused to give a quick knock on the table, getting Ron's attention once again.

"Take it from me kid, enjoy the ride. I'm pretty sure it's only going to get better for you from here," he said before tossing Ron a confident wink, "Trust me."

And with that, Max turned and strolled back to the counter, leaving Kim and Ron alone with their thoughts.

"Kim, what do you think?" Ron asked simply as he and Kim looked at each other, "Was he right? Am I just overreacting to all this?"

"I don't know," Kim replied, shrugging slightly, "He DID make some pretty good points. What do YOU think though? THAT'S the question."

"Well…," Ron said thoughtfully, pausing for a shrug before tossing Kim a warm smile, "…you ARE the girl of my dreams."

Kim found her eyes drifting away shyly before looking back at Ron with a smile of her own, reaching over to softly caress his hand.

"And I AM totally crazy about you," she answered affectionately as she pressed her forehead to his and their fingers gently started playing off each other. Rufus, meanwhile, couldn't help but sigh, caught up in the wave of emotion that was starting to build, but he was still quick to turn his gaze away as Kim and Ron leaned in to kiss. Unfortunately, a familiar series of beeps snapped them out of the moment before it even started.

"Ooohhhh, somebody's got some REALLY bad timing here, I'm just not sure who," Kim groaned, hanging her head with an annoyed sigh before pulling out the Kimmunicator, "Go, Wade."

"I just got word that Electronique has escaped from prison and is heading straight for Go City," Wade replied, "Hego is trying to stop her, but it looks like he's going to need some help. Do you guys have enough time before Ron's next class?"

"What do you think?" Kim looked at Ron with a playful grin, "Feel like having some of that "save-the-world" fun?"

"Why not? After the morning I've had, going a few rounds with the bad guys could only improve my day." Ron replied with a shrug. With that, the two of them were on their feet and out the door just as Max walked up with his refill.

"Hmmm," he noted with a curious half smile before taking another sip.

* * *

"I've got a BIIIIIIIG mouth!" Ron exclaimed as he and Kim took shelter behind a car. Electronique was standing in the middle of a city block which now looked like a war zone, laughing maniacally and throwing her electric blasts at anything that so much as twitched. Meanwhile, Kim, Ron and Hego were pinned down so completely, they'd barely had a chance to make any kind of move against her.

"So…would you mind explaining just what's going on here?!" Kim called over to Hego, who was hunched behind another car just a few yards away, "How did Electronique get her "Big Bad" on again?! I though Jack Hench's Attitundinator turned her good!"

"It did!" Hego replied over the sound of Electronique's blasts, "From what I've heard, apparently, she got struck by a bolt of lightning in prison! Not only did it undo the Attitundinator, it also made her electric attacks about five times stronger!"

"You know, I've gotta say, this could only happen in our world," Ron commented dryly. Kim, meanwhile, was more focused on bringing this battle to an overdue end as Hego managed to maneuver himself in beside them between Electronique's attacks.

"This is getting us nowhere fast," she muttered, clearly becoming frustrated, "Hego, is there anyway you can get her attention so Ron and I can try something?"

"Well, I could always throw something at her," Hego replied. Unfortunately, without thinking anymore about it, he decided that the "something" he was going to throw at her was the very same car that was shielding them from Electronique's blasts! That is, until the car was inexplicably snatched from his hands! Immediately, Hego turned around, only to see Ron in his Mystical Monkey Power mode, with the car mounted over his shoulder.

"Whoa! Dude!" Ron objected, placing the car back down, "Not the thing we're actually HIDING behind!"

"Okay, how did you do that?" Hego could only ask, looking more than a little perplexed.

"GET DOWN!" Kim cried out, grabbing Ron's shirt and yanking him away just as another of Electronique's attacks came streaming past them! The blast exploded into a nearby building, sending Kim and Ron rolling over each other along the sidewalk until they finally stopped with Kim lying on top of him.

"Ron, are you okay?!" Kim blurted out as she threw her hair out of her eyes, thinking only about Ron's well-being at the moment.

"Well…I think I've got a piece of cement jabbing me in the back…," Ron winced slightly in pain before he tilted his head slightly to see Kim's body draped over his own. And he couldn't help but let out a warm sigh as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"…But I guess I'll just have to live with it."

"Oh, would you stop?" Kim retaliated as she slapped him lightly across his arm. They clearly had more important things to worry about at the moment. But still, she couldn't hide the amusement in her voice as she spoke. And she wasn't pulling herself away either, not when Ron gently took her face in his hands or when he slowly leaned up to kiss her…

Just then, reality came roaring back as Hego came flying overhead and slammed hard into the brick wall beside them, struck by one of Electronique's blasts! Having been pulled out of their private moment, Kim and Ron quickly remembered that they had something more important to do first. But it didn't stop them from pointing at each other sternly to say one quick thing…

"HOLD-THAT-THOUGHT!!!"

"Jinx! You owe me a soda!" Ron blurted out with a chuckle.

"Oh, good. You finally got one after how many months?" Kim replied with a sarcastic smirk.

"Well, I know I can't beat you, but I've gotta at least stay competitive, right?" Ron lightheartedly argued back, causing Kim to give an amused eye roll before turning her attention back to the matter at hand.

"Hmmmm…If I can get to the other side of the street, we might just have a chance to take her out," she thought out loud as she turned to Ron with a confident smile, "So what do you say? I hit her high…"

"…and we hit her low," Ron finished her thought as he and Rufus exchanged smirks. And with that, Kim made a mad dash towards a pile of rubble that lay strewn across to the other side of the street, hoping that it would be enough to shield her from Electronique's attacks. Electronique, however, wasn't about to be outmaneuvered as she focused her attention on Kim, preparing to unleash a full power blast! But before she could fire, a sharp pain drilled into her foot, causing her to lose her concentration.

"Ouch!" Electronique cried out on instinct as her blast dissipated into nothing. Glaring down, she caught a glimpse of Rufus gnawing away at her foot before pulling his teeth out.

"Hello!" he chirped merrily before sticking his tongue out at her.

"You again," Electronique growled, electricity flashing around her body, "Wretched creature!!! I'll put an end to you this time!!!"

Rufus immediately whimpered in fear as he hopped off Electronique's foot and ran away. But it didn't take Electronique long to see where he was running to as he scampered up Ron's pant leg to seek shelter in his hands. Ron, meanwhile, stood in front of her with a stern look on his face, his right leg lifted straight up in the air as his body gave off its Mystical Monkey Power glow.

"Uh, do you mind? How about picking on someone your own size?" Ron noted simply. And before Electronique could react, he brought his foot straight down, smashing into the street like a pile driver! The force of the impact broke up the street into small chunks of asphalt! But it also caused Electronique to lose her footing, which was all the opening Kim needed. Firing her grappling hook at a nearby lamppost, she pulled herself into the air, swinging around and slamming feet first into Electronique's face, sending her flying into a nearby car!

"Very nice, KP!" Ron called out, running up to her.

"Well, you weren't so bad yourself," Kim replied, leaning in and softly kissing Ron on the cheek, bringing an instant smile to his face.

"Hmmm, now I seem to recall we were about to do something a moment ago. Now what was that again?" Ron noted playfully, flashing Kim an affectionate smile. Kim, meanwhile, didn't waste a second picking up on his hint.

"Oh, come here, you," she said, taking Ron's face in her hands and leaning in to kiss him once more…

Suddenly, a surge of electricity ripped through the air, sending Kim and Ron flying along the street! Ron was sent hurtling into a pile of rubble and immediately buried. But it was only for a second as his fist burst from the wreckage! A moment later, the rest of the debris exploded off his body, which had regained its Mystical Monkey Power glow!

"Rufus! You okay?!" Ron called out. Rufus immediately responded from his pocket with a positive chattering and a quick thumbs up, which allowed Ron to focus on more important matters. It was fairly obvious where that last attack had come from and it seemed that both he and Kim had seriously underestimated Electronique's recuperative powers. And if Ron wasn't mad before, he was certainly mad now! But just as he was about to charge in, he caught a glimpse of Electronique standing over a groggy Kim, her hand blazing with electricity!

"Hold it!" Electronique called out threateningly, "I don't care what kind of power you have, boy! Even YOU'RE not faster than a bolt of lighting!"

Ron could only glare at Electronique, who simply responded with an evil grin, confident in her upper hand. But before she could think to do anything to Kim or Ron, she felt something tightly grab her wrist!

"Neither are you," a wicked hiss whispered behind Electronique as a dark figured towered over her.

"WHO DARES…?!?!" Electronique whirled around in a rage, but cut herself off as she saw who her mysterious attacker was. And the image processed into her brain, her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped open.

"…you…"

"Hi!" the toothy grin that faced her called out happily before the figure raised his free hand into the air, holding a long, black cane…

Electronique had no time to react at all as an enormous lightning bolt came streaking down from the sky, enveloping her and the stranger in a blinding flash of light! All she could do was let out a shuddering yell as the electrical energy ripped through her body, blowing off parts of her armor! But that was the last thing going through Ron's mind. Kim was still lying right next to them when the lightning hit and she had made no effort to move before Ron lost sight of her! Now all he could see was a rupture of smoke, dust, and sparks of white light!

"KIIIIM!!!" Ron cried out, ready to leap into the haze to find her.

"Ron?" Kim's slightly dazed voice called softly into his ears. And Ron whirled around to see Kim, much to his surprise, standing behind him! And despite the slightly bewildered look on her face, she didn't seem to have so much as a scratch on her! But neither one of them was about to ask any questions. At that moment, they were both so relieved to see each other that all they could do was hug each other tightly, neither one about to let the other go.

"Kim, are you okay?" Ron finally asked, being the first to pull away slightly, "How did you get out of there?"

"I…I don't think I did," Kim replied, still confused as she turned her head towards the settling dust where she had just been lying, "I think…it was him."

Ron immediately looked on with Kim as the haze continued to settle and they were finally able to get a better view of Kim's mysterious rescuer. He was a tall, thin young man, who looked even slightly taller with his short, brown hair slicked back high. He was dressed all in black, except for a white shirt with wide sleeves that folded over his jacket sleeves. The jacket itself looked like a tuxedo jacket with the tails modified to be long and wide in the back, almost like a trenchcoat, but flapping like a cape in the slight breeze. His fingerless gloved hand still had a death grip on Electronique's wrist, who only managed to let out a weak groan as she remained crumpled to her knees, unconscious. His other hand, meanwhile, was still holding the shiny black cane with a silver lightning bolt for a head. A pair of reflective sunglasses covered his eyes, but his lips were still curled into the same wicked grin until he looked up to see Kim and Ron tossing concerned glances in his direction. At that moment, he merely flashed a lighthearted smile, twirling his cane in his hand before whipping it over his shoulder.

"Oh hey. You guys okay?" he finally spoke out in a merry tone as he finally released Electronique, "Yeah, I've really got to apologize for her. She's always been trouble."

"Uh huuuuuh," Kim noted, her eyes darting back and forth, "And you would know this, how? Just who ARE you anyway?"

"Yeah, and how did you do that whole lightning thing?" Ron added. The stranger, meanwhile, merely gave an amused chuckle as he shook his head.

"Now, now, kids. I could answer all your questions right now," he answered before turning his back to them, "But where would be the fun in that?"

"Hey!" Kim called out as the stranger seemed ready to walk away, and it seemed to be enough to make him look over his shoulder back towards her and Ron.

"Oh come on, you're just going to figure it out anyway, so why ruin a perfectly good surprise." he continued before turning around to leave once more. But just then, Hego had recovered from Electronique's earlier attack on him and had come running up. But as he looked over at the stranger, his jaw dropped in the same way that Electronique's had just moments ago.

"Max?" he blurted out, clearly in shock, "Max, is that you?"

"'Max'?" Kim noted, exchanging glances with Ron before their faces showed a look of shock as well, "Maximillion Ambro?!"

The stranger twitched slightly before turning back towards Kim and the others. And as he pulled his sunglasses down past the bridge of his nose and flashed an annoyed frown, there was no longer any doubt that it really was the same Maximillion Ambro that Kim and Ron had met not long before!

"Great. Just great!" he exclaimed as he stormed past Kim and Ron to give Hego a firm smack in the arm with his cane.

"Ow!" Hego blurted out, "What was that for?"

"Way to go, Stupid!" Max ranted, "They could have figured it out just fine on their own! But you had to come in and open your big mouth!"

"Excuse me?!" Hego retaliated, "You ghost into town after dropping off the face of the earth for seven years and I'M the bad guy?!"

"Pretty much, yeah!" Max argued.

"Uh, excuse me?!" Kim piped up, cutting off Hego and Max's heated debate, "But would someone please explain to us just what is going on here?!"

"Oh, and I suppose you're gonna blab about THAT now too!" Max continued berating Hego before storming off, "Honestly, I had a whole timetable planned out and he just throws it all away! SHEESH!!!"

With that, Max stamped his foot into the street, creating an explosion of smoke and glitter around his body! A second later, he was gone, leaving Kim and Ron standing in the middle of the street with Hego, completely astonished.

"Okay, that was a new trick," Hego commented.

"Hego, what is the sitch?!" Kim exclaimed, "How do you know this guy? Who IS he?!"

"Do yourselves a favor," Hego replied sternly before walking off, "Stay away from him. He's nothing but trouble."

And a few moments later, Hego was gone as well, leaving Kim and Ron with no answers to their questions. They could only look on at the spot where Max had just been standing and toss each other bewildered glances.

"Okay, I'm officially confused now," Ron commented simply. What he and Kim didn't notice however, was a pair of glowing, blood-red eyes peering from the darkness of a nearby alley.

* * *

"Ow!" Ron winced as he felt a tiny shock from touching his locker, "Aw man! Thanks to Electronique, I'm going to be all static-y for the rest of the day."

"Tell me about it. My head's gonna be a giant powder puff when I wake up for classes tonight," Kim added before the sound of the Kimmunicator commanded her attention, "What have you got, Wade?"

"Nothing much, except that Maximillion Ambro is an orphan from Go City," Wade answered, feeling a little perplexed himself, "I honestly can't believe how little there is on this guy. A couple of old school records, but that's about it. There's an address, but it's got to be old. No way he's living there now. But I haven't found anything else. It's like this guy just appears and disappears whenever he wants."

"Yeah, we kind of got that impression already," Kim noted, sounding slightly annoyed, "Let us know if you find anything else, Wade."

"Uh, KP, I mean, I'm curious too, but don't you think you might be overreacting just a little?" Ron asked, "I mean, the guy DID stop Electronique from frying you. That kinda makes me want to be a little generous with the benefit of the doubt."

"Ron, the guy made a bolt of lightning appear just by lifting his arm!" Kim argued.

"Exactly," Ron replied, "So if he wanted to hurt us, don't you think he could have done it by now?"

"I hear what you're saying Ron," Kim stated with a slightly worried tone, "But at this point, we should find out as much as we can about this guy before we start giving too much on faith."

"Late to classes on your first day, Mr. Stoppable?" the unmistakable baritone voice sounded off behind them.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Ron shrieked, jumping behind Kim before he whirled around to see Kevin Barkin's gruff features staring right at him. At that moment, Ron's attitude quickly switched from panic to annoyance.

"DON'T…DO THAT!!!" he shouted angrily.

"Is that really how you screamed this morning when he talked to your class?" Kim whispered at him over her shoulder. However, the look on Ron's face glaring at Barkin as he tried desperately to calm himself clearly indicated that now was not the time. So instead, Kim turned her attention to Barkin himself.

"And as for you," she stated, "Is there some reason in particular that you're microscoping my boyfriend like this?"

"Very good question," a familiar voice sounded off behind Barkin, who whirled around to see Maximillion Ambro standing right behind him, as if out of nowhere. Even Kim and Ron couldn't help but be a little surprised, despite what had just happened in Go City.

"Last time I checked 'Kev', looking after the well-being of the students was MY job, not yours," Max stated with a confident smirk as he slightly waved Barkin off, "So why don't you just toddle off now?"

Kim and Ron weren't sure what to make of this guy anymore, but they weren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth either. However, Barkin wasn't going to let himself be intimidated either as he looked straight into Maximillion's eyes with a deathly serious expression.

"Let's get one thing straight, Smart Guy," he muttered grimly, "This isn't Upperton High anymore. You're reputation doesn't mean anything here. Now the old Dean may have hired you on before his retirement, but you're dealing with ME now. So don't think that I won't be keeping an eye on you."

Satisfied that he'd gotten his point across, Barkin turned on his heels and walked down the hall. But Max clearly wasn't about to be intimidated either as he gave a simple shrug.

"Okay, good luck with that," he stated, tossing a little wave in Barkin's direction before flashing a sinister smile and lowering his voice to a wicked hiss, "You'll need it."

Barkin simply responded by tossing an irritated look over his shoulder. Max, meanwhile, maintained his smirk before suddenly letting out an amused chuckle as Barkin turned the corner.

"Ah yes, I am going to have a lot of fun with him," he commented lightheartedly before turning his attention to Ron, "And look at you, already starting to stand up to him. Good for you. That scowl of indignation totally plays. But anyway, I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kim exclaimed as Max was just about to leave.

"What?" Max asked simply.

"What do you mean, 'What?'" Kim argued, "How can you stand there and act like everything you did in Go City never happened? Just what is your deal anyway?"

"Oh gee, I'm surprised Hego didn't tell you everything himself," Max replied with an annoyed eye roll.

"He was a little sketchy on the details," Kim stated sarcastically, "Now after everything that's happened so far, I think you owe us a few answers, don't you?"

With that, Max only let out a sigh of submission.

"Alright, fine…"

"Oh, excuse me, Mr. Ambro?" the chirpy voice of Barkin's secretary sounded off as she came hurrying up to them, "A rather large package just arrived for you at the office. We need you to sign for it."

"Oh, of course," Max stated rather matter-of-factly as he calmly signed the invoice on the secretary's clipboard.

"Oh, and since it is a rather large package, you might want to get it out of the office before Dean Barkin sees it," the secretary noted as she handed Max a piece of paper and headed back the way she came.

"Yeah, THAT'LL definitely make me move faster. Okay, let's see what we've got here," Max muttered sarcastically to himself as he scanned the paper. Suddenly, his eyes instantly lit up and a huge smile crossed his face.

"No…way!" he exclaimed, "Gotta go."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kim shouted after him as he dashed down the hall, "Just where do you think YOU'RE going?!"

"Sorry, but I've gotta get this!" Max called back, clearly overjoyed, "My garden gnomes just arrived!"

As soon as the words escaped his lips, Kim and Ron had to look at each other in a state of disbelief. It was as if they had no earthly idea exactly what he had just said.

"What?!" Kim blurted out after him.

"Best Halloween decorating on the planet!" Max announced gleefully, "Mark my words, you put out a couple dozen of those on your front lawn and just watch the reactions! I'm telling you, you have not lived until you've seen the looks on people's faces!"

And with that, Max turned around and started running back down the hall in a giggling frenzy. But it was at this point that Kim had decided she'd had just about enough.

"Oh no, you don't! Get back here!" she yelled, chasing after him down the hall with Ron right behind her. But as soon as they turned the corner where they'd seen him run, all they saw was a few sparkles of glitter and wisps of smoke, just like when he'd pulled his disappearing act in Go City just before.

"Okay, how is he doing that?" Ron thought out loud as he and Kim could only look on perplexed.

"It's maaaaaaaagiiiiiiiic," Max's voice sounded off softly behind them as they whirled around to see him peeking from a nearby room, whisking his eyebrows playfully, "Neat, huh?"

Max then ducked back into the room, slamming the door behind him! Kim and Ron reached the door only a second later, but when they opened it, all they found was an empty room. Empty except for a few traces of the same smoke and glitter from before.

"Ho-kay, this guy is officially getting on my nerves," Kim said with a scowl before calming down slightly and turning to Ron, "He's probably gone to the office to get his stupid package. Look, you'd better get to your class. I'll track him down, okay?"

It all sounded like a perfectly reasonable plan as the pair went their separate ways. But when Ron's class was finished two hours later, he and Rufus went outside to see Kim sitting on one of the campus benches, wearing a completely bewildered look on her face.

"So…I'm guessing you didn't find him, huh?" Ron noted as he rolled his eyes innocently, trying to broach the subject as delicately as he could.

"I turned this place upside down. He's just…gone," Kim stated in a complete state of disbelief. And Ron didn't need any more encouragement to sit down beside her and place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"He's got us running around in circles," Kim continued, taking a moment to think before a determined look crossed her face, "We need to talk to Hego again. If we're going to deal with this guy, we need to know a lot more than what we know."

"Uh huh, good plan, great initiative," Ron answered as he looked away, clearly with other things on his mind, "But…it doesn't HAVE to be right away, right? 'Cause…I seem to remember, we kinda had some plans today…and…you know…"

Kim had to let out a hollow chuckle at that moment, rolling her eyes before tossing Ron an amused smile. After all, she had to admit that a little time for some romance with Ron might be enough to ease a few of her own frazzled nerves. And there didn't seem to be any immediate trouble on the horizon.

"Oh, alright," she conceded, talking in a babying tone as she reached over and gently glided her hand down Ron's cheek, "We'll do it tomorrow."

Ron couldn't help but smile back at her as they both sealed the deal with a soft peck on the lips and a quick cuddle. Little did they know that Max was standing about 10 yards behind them, concealed behind a large tree.

"Hm," he thought out loud, grinning calmly as he walked off, "Well…setbacks aside, I'd say things are working out very nicely."

* * *

A secret location somewhere in the world…

The next morning had almost come and gone and it every indication seemed that another calm day was to be had. Everything except for an insane cackle echoing through the dimly lit corridors of a cavernous lair.

"At last, it's finished!" Dr. Drakken gloated wickedly, "My greatest creation is finally complete!"

Drakken couldn't stop himself from laughing evilly as Shego walked into the room, sorting through the mail in her hand. But after the last couple of months, she wasn't the least bit surprised at what she saw. The entire room was covered top to bottom with hedge sculptures of every shape and size. Drakken, meanwhile, was standing at the top of a stepladder set up beside a huge hedge sculpture of himself, standing 10 feet tall and striking a triumphant pose.

"So tell me what you think, Shego," he stated proudly, "Too much?"

"Not for you," Shego replied dryly, her lack of enthusiasm turning Drakken's smile into an annoyed frown. Just then, Drakken's plant mutation activated as one of his vines grew out and tapped him on the shoulder, drawing his attention to the sculpture. And Drakken gasped in horror as he looked at the sculpture and saw a stray twig sticking out of the elbow like a sore thumb! But the vine was quick to respond to the crisis, handing him a fresh pair of pruning shears.

"Why, thank you," Drakken said politely, giving the vine a nice pat before turning to Shego with an indignant scowl, "It's good to know I have SOME help around here."

"Whatever," Shego said, rolling her eyes slightly before turning back to scan through the mail, "You know, Dr. D, as nice as it is that you've got yourself a hobby and…as amusing as it's been watching you go without sleep for days on end because of it…have you thought about what you're doing for money? I mean, it's been two months now and you don't seem to have given any thoughts about your cash flow."

"Thank you for your 'doom and gloom' predictions, Shego," Drakken replied sarcastically, delicately pruning some more twigs from his sculpture, "But I'll have you know that I've already been giving the situation all the thought it requires."

"HAVE-YOU?" Shego asked sternly, raising a suspicious eyebrow in Drakken's direction.

"Yes…well…," Drakken's eyes darted back and forth, searching desperately for an answer before making a feeble attempt to redirect the conversation, "Practice what you preach, Shego! I don't see YOU bringing in the green. At least not the green WE'RE talking about."

"Sometimes, I don't know WHY I bother…," Shego muttered to herself as she walked out of the room, leaving Drakken to tend to his pruning. Walking back into the main hall of the lair, her sorting had found her a newspaper from Go City. Her curiosity sufficiently piqued, she sat down in a nearby chair to leaf through it. But she didn't even get past the front page before her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped open!

"No…no no no no no. There's no way…" her voice rose from a stunned whisper to a livid roar as her hands blazed, burning into the newspaper, "NO…WAY!!!"

"Shego?! Was that you?! Did you say something?!" Drakken called from the other room, but his only reply was the echo of a metal clang. Peeking his head out into the main hall, he saw that Shego was already long gone, with the door to the lair left flung wide open. All that she'd left behind was the newspaper she had just been looking at, lying on the floor and burning from the plasma discharge her hands had generated!

"Shego!" Drakken yelled, ignoring the fact that she was no longer able to hear him as he whipped back into the other room and came back out with a bucket of water, "How many times do we have to have this conversation?! If you're going to burn something, do it in the fireplace! That way it doesn't set off the…!"

Unfortunately Drakken wouldn't get the chance to finish his thought, as his words were cut off by the shrill clanging of the lair's fire alarm! And a second later, a torrent of water began pouring down from the ceiling!

"…sprinkler…system," Drakken muttered in conclusion. Soaked to the bone and realizing there was no point in fighting it, he could only let out a defeated sigh and trudge off to find a mop. Meanwhile, the newspaper that Shego had left behind was still lightly smoldering on the floor. But the part of the front page that hadn't been burned showed an amateur photo taken the day before, showing Maximillion Ambro with his wicked smile, clutching the wrist of the defeated Electronique, with Kim, Ron and Hego staring at him from the foreground.

* * *

"Max? The SAME Max?! Hego, are you sure?" Mego asked as the two of them walked down one of the many halls of the Go Tower, with the Wego twins close behind, "I mean, it HAS been seven years, you know."

"Mego, I was standing less than six inches from the man," Hego replied, the annoyance in his voice clearly apparent, "Offhand, I'd say that's close enough to be sure."

"But Hego, he DID beat Electronique…Isn't that a good thing?" The Wego twins chimed in with their typical method of finishing each other's thoughts. But before Hego could respond, a loud buzz could be heard echoing throughout the Go Tower, indicating that someone was at the front door. Not wasting a moment, Hego headed straight to a nearby viewing monitor, only to see Kim and Ron standing outside in their mission gear, with Rufus on Ron's shoulder and all three staring back into the front door camera with serious frowns.

* * *

"Come on, Hego. We need answers," Kim stated as they joined Team Go walking through the Go Tower hangar, "We tried to deal with the sitch on our own, but…this guy is just in a whole other UNIVERSE. Anything you can tell us would help."

"Just who IS this dude?" Ron chimed in, trying to kick things off with the simplest question he could start with.

"He's a liability," Hego replied just as simply, wearing an annoyed frown.

"Oh, just because YOU didn't get along with him…Would you stop? He's fine," Mego spoke back dismissively.

"He's a lunatic!" Hego argued.

"Come on, Hego…He's not THAT bad." The Wego twins protested.

"Hey, do you know if he still puts out the garden gnomes on Halloween? Because I've gotta tell you, I've NEVER laughed so hard," Mego asked Kim and Ron, his voice full of anticipation. The mere mention of garden gnomes, however, caused Ron to let out a slight shudder.

"Uh…we're not going to talk about that one, okay?" Kim replied, respecting Ron's feelings on the subject as she put her arm around him reassuringly, "Guys, can we focus here? We'd like to know exactly what kind of powers this guy has."

"Well, he couldn't throw lightning bolts or disappear in a puff of smoke when WE knew him, that's for sure," Hego answered. The mention of it even had Mego and the twins looking surprised and shrugging their shoulders.

"So what COULD he do?" Ron asked, following up on Kim's question.

"Well, to be honest, not really much of anything," Hego replied with a shrug, "I mean, he didn't have much in the way of athletic skills…"

"…or coordination…" Mego added.

"…or talent…or forethought…" the Wego twins piped up.

"Well, there was ONE thing he had going for him," Hego mentioned after a moment of thought, "I guess the best way to describe it would be this…incredible good luck. It was like no matter what kind of trouble he got into…"

"…And I have to say, he got into a LOT of trouble with the bad guys…" Mego interjected as the Wegos nodded in agreement.

"…No matter WHAT kind of trouble he got into…!" Hego started to say again, reasserting himself, "…he just…always seemed to get out of it okay. I remember one time he fell off a building and a rope caught his ankle and saved him."

"Don't forget the time the giant robot was going to fall on him…And missed him completely," the Wego twins added.

"Uh, okay Kim?" Ron whispered to her with a concerned look, "Am I crazy, or…is this guy starting to sound a lot like…me?"

Kim could only reply with a similar troubled expression as Rufus let out a series of worried whimpers. Just then, she and Ron found themselves thinking back to something Max had said shortly after they met him…

…"I mean hey, I used to BE him. I can understand what he's going through."…

"Okay, but if that was what he was like seven years ago…what's changed? Obviously, he's been doing some upgrading. But what kind?" Kim commented thoughtfully. Just then, she and Ron looked at each other as they both flashed back to something else Max had said the day before. It didn't seem like anything at the time, but at that moment…

…"It's maaaaaaaagiiiiiiiic. Neat, huh?"…

"We thought he was just kidding around. What if he WAS trying to tell us something?" Kim mused, still looking at Ron before turning the Kimmunicator, "Wade, I need you to drop everything else about Maximillion Ambro and cross reference his name with anything involving magic. Talismans, wizards, fact, fiction, anything you can find, no matter how small or insignificant."

"That's a lot of data to crunch, Kim. It might take me a while," Wade replied, "Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"

"Call it a hunch," Kim said with a shrug, "It's a long shot, I know. But it's worth a try. Let me know if you find anything."

"Okay, so let's just say for the sake of conversation that this guy didn't bring too much to the hero scene," Ron inquired, "Just…how did you guys get to know him?"

"Well, to be honest, the person you should be talking to about THAT is Shego. I mean…," Hego began to say, although the waving of hands and nervous expressions of his brothers seemed to indicate that that was an extraordinarily bad idea.

"Shego?" Kim thought out loud, "What does SHE have to do with…"

Suddenly, a thundering roar echoed in their ears as an explosion ripped through the air! Instantly, Kim, Ron and Team Go looked over to see a giant hole blown into the wall of the Go Tower! But a dim pair of green glows shining through the settling dust made it clear who the culprit was, even before her scowling face came into view.

"Sh-She-e-e-e-eg-o-o-o-o-o-o," Mego and the Wegos shuddered as they clung to each other in fear.

"WHERE IS HE!?!?!" Shego snarled before storming across the room right past Kim and Ron, making a beeline straight for Hego.

"Uh…greetings, Sister. "You're, uh…looking well…," Hego announced nervously. But his words were cut off as Shego grabbed the collar of his uniform and pulled him down to look him dead in the eyes.

"Hego, I am NOT kidding around." Shego spoke threateningly through gritted teeth, "I know he was here in town yesterday. I'm only going to ask one more time… WHERE…IS HE?"

But before Hego could respond, Kim intervened, running up and grabbing Shego's shoulder to try and pull her away. Acting on instinct, Shego lashed out with a plasma-charged backhand slash! But her hand struck nothing but air as Kim easily dodged the attack, heading back towards Ron with a pair of backflips.

"Sounds like you need a timeout, Shego," Kim announced defiantly as she and Ron stood their ground.

"Oh, and look who's here!" Shego growled, as if she hadn't noticed them before. But it didn't seem to faze her in the least as she now had a new target for her anger.

"Now you listen to me! I don't know what rock you found him under!" Shego growled as she stomped over to Kim and Ron, her eyes almost glowing in rage as her voice rose to a full blown roar, "But YOU two…have got SOME nerve…running around…with MY…EX…BOYFRIEND!!!!!"

"EX-BOYFRIEND?!?!" Kim and Ron blurted out at each other before turning back to Shego in a complete state of shock! Even Rufus's jaw dropped in disbelief! But their surprise only doubled as none other than Maximillion himself suddenly peered up over Shego's shoulder! He was wearing the same outfit and hairstyle he'd worn the day before against Electronique. He even had the cane and the same toothy grin. But before anyone could react, he whipped a digital camera out in front of his face, pointing it right at the still-stunned trio.

"Hold that pose!" he announced cheerfully.

FLASH!

"Thank you!"

Kim, Ron and the Team Go brothers had no idea what to think as they just stood rooted to their spots. They could only stare at Max with bewildered looks as he stood just a few steps away, suddenly howling with laughter at the fresh photo of Kim and Ron and Rufus staring into the camera with wide eyes and gaping jaws.

"Oh, this is just too perfect!" he snickered gleefully, "I mean seriously, that couldn't have been a better shot if I'd planned it!"

The only one in the room not in a state of confusion however, was Shego. Every muscle in her body was tensed like a steel spring as her hands blazed and a twisted scowl crossed her face. Suddenly, as if she might explode if she waited a second longer, she leaped straight forward, slashing at Max with a yell of rage!

Shego's attack was right on target, but to her shock, it failed to hit the mark. Kim and the others could only look on and gasp as Max's body seemed to turn to vapor, sending Shego flying harmlessly through him and skidding along the floor face first! But Shego's failed attack only made her more incensed as she whipped back onto her feet and whirled around, glaring at Max, whose body slowly reformed and turned solid again. Max, meanwhile, simply stared at Shego with an expression of wide-eyed innocence.

"You know, if you wanted to be in the picture, you could have just asked," he stated with a shrug before flashing Shego a goofy smile. But Shego clearly wasn't in the mood for jokes as she charged forward, slashing at Max once more. But a split second before her attack connected, Max popped away in another cloud of smoke and glitter, only to appear just a few steps away, throwing an amused grin and a playful fluttery wave. Again and again Shego lashed out, only to have Max evade every single one of her attacks with the same disappearing act. Until finally, as Shego lunged forward with a plasma charged punch, Max simply reached up and effortlessly caught her blazing fist just inches from his face. Shego, meanwhile, could only look on, stunned.

"You know Shego, I've gotta tell you, I don't remember you being this slow a learner," he said with a simple grin. But an instant later, Max twirled around hard, dragging Shego with him into a forming tornado right inside the Go Tower hangar! The vortex itself was only a fraction of the size and power of a real tornado, but it was still powerful enough that Hego had to use his super strength to prevent his brothers from being sucked inside! Meanwhile, Ron had to change into his Mystical Monkey Power form, holding Kim close and gripping Rufus in the palm of his hand! But within seconds, the twisting winds subsided as Max slowed his spin and finally released Shego, sending her spiraling across the room and slamming into the far wall! Max, meanwhile, was standing in the middle of the room, grinning from ear to ear and posing as if he'd just finished a dance number.

"Let me guess. He couldn't do THAT before either," Kim said with an annoyed tone as Ron let her go. Hego and his brothers could only shake their heads in reply as they looked on with wide-eyed shock. Meanwhile, Shego was still trying to clear her head as she stumbled away from the wall, murmuring in a daze. And Max seemed all too willing to help with her recovery as he suddenly popped up behind her once again, gently rubbing her shoulders.

"Aye, but ye're so tense, Sheeeego, me lass. I daresay ye be in need of a long vaceeetion. Hew 'bewt a noice trip dewn t'the Emerald Oisle. Waddeye sey?" he said jokingly. But Shego could only hold her head and groan.

"Not the Irish accent. Anything but the Irish accent…," She muttered through gritted teeth, her voice rising to a roar, "YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE THAT!!!"

Once again, Shego whirled around and slashed at Max! But once again, Shego's attack only passed through the same puff of smoke and glitter. Instantly she whipped back around, only to see him standing upside down as if he were floating, balancing on the head of his cane with only his index finger.

"Well YAH," he replied with a shrug, "But I can't be messing with your head if I'm doing stuff you like. THINK!!"

With that, Max flipped back to his feet and turned his back to her, walking back towards Kim and the others, who still had no idea what to make of the situation.

"Honestly," he continued with a chuckle, twirling his cane before snapping it over his shoulder, "I would have thought you'd have figured that out by now."

Max didn't seem to have a care in the world as he calmly walked away. But at the same time, he had left his back to Shego completely unprotected. And Shego was never one to let a mistake go unpunished as she quietly slunk forward before running up and leaping high into the air, bringing her flashing fists right down onto his head!

"Look out!" Kim cried out, instantly forgetting everything she had seen so far. But she soon realized how unnecessary her warning was. Because an instant later, Shego's body struck what appeared to be a transparent dome that was surrounding not only Max, but Kim and the others as well. And the barrier not only repelled the attack, it sent Shego flying back and bouncing along the hangar floor!

"Don't hurt yourself, Sweetie!" Max called over his shoulder with an amused chuckle before joining the others. Kim, meanwhile, had had just about enough of his amusement as she stormed over to him with an aggravated frown.

"Okay, just what is your sitch?! You just stroll into our lives one day without telling us a single thing about you?! And suddenly, you're popping in and out of nowhere, fighting bad guys, showing off new super powers every five minutes?! And THEN we find out that not only did you used to hang out with THEM, but you used to date HER?!" Kim shouted at a still grinning Max as she pointed at Shego, who was still outside, slashing furiously at his barrier with no effect.

"Impulsive little scamp, ain't I?" Max replied cheerfully. Shego, meanwhile, powered up and unleashed a pair of full force plasma blasts at Max's shield. But the blasts simply bounced right back at her.

"Aah!" was all Shego could blurt out as she was sent flying.

"Okay, dude? Not for nothing, but this whole cryptic thing you're on? Not so good for the credibility," Ron stated with a cautioned whisper, ignoring Shego's efforts to break in along with everyone else. Her next attempt involved stomping back with a steel bar and whaling away with everything she had. But in the end, the result was simply a bar bent in half, which she immediately heaved across the hangar with a growl of frustration.

"Oh, come on. It's just good clean fun," Max said in his own defense before pulling out his digital camera once again, "Besides, how else can I come up with quality shots like this?"

Taking another look at his saved photo of a stunned Kim, Ron and Rufus, Max couldn't help but start giggling once again. Kim and Ron and Rufus, meanwhile, could each only give an annoyed eye roll before they looked over and saw Team Go on the other side of the dome, staring in Max's direction. Mego and the Wegos seemed oddly amused by the sight, but Hego merely flashed a stern frown.

"Okay, aside from the magic tricks, he…he really hasn't changed a bit, has he?" Mego noted, fighting the urge to laugh himself.

"Nope," Hego replied simply with an irritated tone.

"Oh…I'm sorry," Max said, a few stray chuckles managing to get out as he tried to calm himself back down, "I'm easily amused."

"Well, that makes one of you," Kim commented, pointing back at Shego, who was still going largely unnoticed. By this time, however, she was biting and gnawing at Max's barrier with a wild glare in her eyes. Lost for any other options, she had finally resigned herself to trying to tear through the dome with her teeth.

"Awwww," Max said, turning to Kim and the others with a wide grin, "She's just so cute when she's crazed."

"He's calling HER crazed?" Ron muttered to Kim under his breath.

"Okay, listen, I've gotta ask," Max said calmly, walking over to Kim and Ron and taking them aside, "Would you guys mind too terribly if I took care of this one? I mean, I don't want to look like I'm moving in on anybody's turf here, because don't get me wrong. You guys have done a phenomenal job of handling her, believe me. But this time…I get the sense she has some things she needs to get off her chest."

"Dude, just how bad a breakup WAS this?" Ron felt the need to ask.

"Well, what can I say? Some people, they go bad, they just can't handle rejection," Max answered with a shrug, "Go figure."

"Now hang on. I don't know about this…," Kim said, looking over at Shego and feeling very unsure about everything that was happening at that moment.

"Oh, come on. Don't worry. She'll be fine," Max answered, putting his hand on Kim's shoulder with a smile before lifting his sunglasses over his eyes and tossing her a playful wink, "Trust me."

Before Kim could object, Max reached up and snapped his fingers, instantly filling the entire hangar with smoke and glitter. No one was able to see anything, until a few seconds later, when the haze dissolved almost as quickly as it had appeared. And Kim and the others were surprised to find themselves standing on the catwalk overlooking the hangar from the far wall, while Max and Shego stood just a few yards apart on the hangar floor, staring each other down.

"Okay, what just happened?" Ron blurted out in confusion as he and Rufus tried to shake the cobwebs out of their heads.

"Okay Shego, you called this meeting. So what's it gonna be?" Max called over to her with a confident smile, instantly regaining everyone's attention, "Is this just some light sparring? Or am I gonna have to put some…you know, actual EFFORT into this?"

"We'll just see how smug you are after I rip that smirk off your face, you jerk!" Shego hollered back, her hands blazing so brightly that it almost seemed to give her entire upper body a faint green glow.

"Well…this sounds like it should entertain me briefly," Max replied, looking completely unconcerned as he twirled his cane, whipping it over his shoulder before raising his free hand to Shego with a "come here" wave, "So…tell daddy how you want it."

There was no longer any need for words as Shego charged forward, yelling in rage! But Max's expression refused to change as he lowered his cane, which immediately began to glow. As Kim looked on, the glow from Max's cane looked almost the same as Shego's plasma powers, but it was glowing white instead of green. Shego, meanwhile, didn't seem to notice as she slashed forward right at Max's face! But Max seemed to have no trouble at all simply raising his cane to block the strike and the fight was on!

What came next looked like a kung fu movie fight scene crossed with a sci-fi laser show as Shego traded strikes with Max, who was wielding his cane like a sword, dodging and blocking Shego's slashing attacks and whirling kicks. It only took Kim a few moments to get a general idea of Max's fighting style and it was clear right away that he didn't have Shego's style or finesse. Some of his movements seemed blocky and rigid as opposed to Shego's attacks, which were smooth and fluid. He also didn't have nearly the same level of ferocity either as he seemed to be fighting a more offsetting, defensive battle, in sharp contrast to Shego's full on blitzkrieg assault. But despite the vast difference in experience and fierceness, it seemed to be doing little to give Shego an advantage. Because Max was able to either dodge her attacks completely or use his cane to redirect her strikes or block them like a solid wall. But even more surprising than that, as Kim looked on, she noticed Max was taking a small half step forward every few seconds during the fight. He hadn't made a single offensive move against her, and yet he was managing to gradually force Shego back!

Still, Kim didn't have time to be impressed. Whatever else this fight may be, it was also acting as the perfect distraction for both Shego and Max. And if there was ever a time to get the answers she needed, it was now.

"Come on," she whispered to Ron, grabbing him by the arm as she managed to tear herself away from the spectacle taking place below, "We've still got some questions to ask."

"Aw, come on KP," Ron protested silently, "I mean, look at them down there. One of them's gonna do something. And you KNOW it's gonna be good."

"Ron!"

"Oh, alright," Ron said in a disappointed tone as Rufus whimpered from his shoulder. Forcing himself to turn away from the battle raging below, Ron could only hang his head as Kim led him over to Shego's brother's, who were still looking on with awe at the scene taking place in front of their eyes.

"Hego, we need to know more. Just what is going on here?" Kim asked, "Shego called Max her 'ex-boyfriend'. Like, they actually DATED? I mean, no offense to anyone, but somehow, he doesn't strike me as her type."

"I don't know if you could call what they had a real relationship. It was more like a relationship of convenience," Hego answered with a sigh, "Maybe I should start at the beginning. See, Max and Shego met when they were just starting high school. By this time, Shego's attitude was starting to sour and she didn't really get along well with anyone. Max was the only boy in school who would actually go near her, the only one she couldn't intimidate. I guess that was what she liked about him at first. The next thing we knew, they were spending all their time together. As soon as he found out about the whole Team Go thing, he wanted in. Shego let him tag along sometimes."

"Even though he didn't have any powers to defend himself?" Kim reacted with a hint of surprise.

"Well, Max always had more guts than brains, I guess you could say," Hego replied, "He was nice enough, but he wouldn't let himself be intimidated by anyone, which brought out this smart-alecky, smug side to him. He was a bit of a prankster, not afraid to thumb his nose at authority. I didn't particularly care for that, but it became another thing Shego liked about him. She saw him as a rebel, like her. And then there was that luck of his. It was like there were absolutely no consequences to anything he did, which made his rebellious side that much worse. He started seeing himself as untouchable."

"Oh Hego, stop painting him like some punk," Mego protested, "He wasn't that bad."

"You're just saying that because every time one of you got into trouble, he'd turn around and defend you whenever I tried to keep you in line," Hego argued, pointing at his brothers, "Honestly, you three were no better than animals whenever he was around."

"Come on Hego, quit tiptoeing around it…Why don't you tell them the REAL reason you don't like him?" the Wego twins chimed in, throwing themselves into the argument.

"What are they talking about?" Kim asked, hoping to steer the conversation back on track.

"When Shego left the team…Hego blamed Max. He thought that Max was the one who talked her into it," Mego answered before Hego had a chance to react, "It wasn't until a few years later that we found out he broke up with her. But this big lummox STILL won't let it go."

"They both disappeared at the same time! What other conclusion would you come to?!" Hego protested. Mego, however, only responded by flapping his hand like a barking dog and making "blah, blah, blah" looks with his face.

"So…do you know exactly what happened between them?" Kim asked, trying to sound as sensitive as she could, broaching the subject, "You know…how they broke up?"

"No one really knows," Hego said with a shrug, "Shego could probably answer that. But just TRY to get anything out of HER."

Everyone's attention immediately turned back to Shego's fight with Max, which was continuing to rage below. After finally realizing that close combat wasn't getting her anywhere, Shego jumped back, firing a volley of full on plasma blasts! But Max responded to the change of tactics by pulling a large black disk from his jacket, which popped out into a top hat. And with some quick movements, he used the hat to catch every blast aimed at him, each one disappearing inside.

"Okay, TIME OUT!" he called, throwing his hand up in a halting motion. Everyone, including Shego could only look on confused until Max tucked his cane under his arm and reached into the hat. But to everyone's added surprise, all he ended up pulling out was nothing but a steaming cup of tea.

"Thanks. It WAS getting a little cold," he stated cheerfully in Shego's direction before sipping from the cup, closing his eyes and taking a moment to savor his drink, "Oh yeah, that's the stuff."

Shego was mad enough before, but at that moment, she was completely humiliated. To think that he had just used her attack to warm a stupid drink?! Roaring in anger, she unleashed a huge two-handed blast at Max, just as he was flattening out his top hat and shoving it back into his jacket. But Max seemed to pay it no heed as he calmly took another sip of his tea, reaching his free hand across his chest. Then, with a simple backhand swipe, his hand gripped the blast as it reached him and effortlessly shoved it aside, sending it exploding harmlessly into the opposite wall from where Kim and the others were looking on!

"Haaaaaah, that's better," he stated, finishing his second sip. Then, vanishing the used cup into his jacket, he pulled out his cane and did something no one had expected. Floating just millimeters off the ground, he burst forward, flying towards Shego like a bolt as he yelled out, his cane prepared to strike.

Caught off guard by the sudden offense and blinding speed, Shego couldn't help but flinch as Max bore down on her, but suddenly, a soft poof! sound entered her ears and she opened her eyes only to be greeted by a haze of smoke and glitter. Whirling around, she saw Max standing just a few feet away, leaning back on his cane and flashing a calm smile.

"Right here, Sweet Cheeks," he called out invitingly, pointing at his jaw with his free hand. Shego only let out an angry growl as she glared at him.

"DON'T…CALL ME THAT!!!" she shouted, so enraged at this point that a tiny vein was starting to appear on her forehead.

"Okay, is he even trying?" Ron had to ask as Rufus looked on with a surprised gaze, "Because…I don't think he's trying."

"You're right. It's like he's just…PLAYING with her," Kim agreed, shrugging her shoulders. Shego, meanwhile, had once again surrendered to her rage and once again charged towards Max, who simply smiled.

"She can't win," Kim admitted to herself, shaking her head as she looked on at Shego's futile attempts to take Max down, "There's just no way. But why doesn't she see that? She's smarter than this."

"Not in this case," Hego answered, "Unfortunately, Max has always been one area where Shego has never been in her most logical mindset,"

"Yeah, when they were getting along, it was one thing…But whenever they got into a fight, you KNEW it was going to be EPIC," The Wego twins added.

"You know, she'd get mad and he'd get all smug and play the "Calm, Cool and Collected" card, mostly because he knew it bugged her," Mego continued, "Of course, I never complained, because any time she got mad at HIM was a time she wasn't getting mad at US."

"Maybe not at YOU," Hego corrected, "But who was the one who had to step in every time to break it up?"

"I guess it's no real surprise they didn't stay together," Kim commented.

"I'd heard they ran into each other a couple years ago," Mego added, "I don't know what happened, and I'm not about to ask. But I guess Shego's been fuming about it ever since."

Shego, meanwhile, continued her assault, but to no avail, as Max deflected one of her strikes with his cane. An instant later, Max twisted his cane up and over to slide the end of it right under Shego's arm. And with a flick of his wrist, he effortlessly flipped Shego back over his head in a 10-foot arc with his cane. Shego could only blurt out a yell of shock as she went flying. But without even turning around, Max snapped his fingers and pointed right at her, halting her fall and leaving Shego floating in mid-air. Then, by slowly lowering his hand, Shego was eased back to the ground to land safely on her feet. But a second later, he found himself blurting out a quick laugh before turning back to face her.

"Aw, come on, Shego," he chuckled, as he shrugged at her, "I mean, we both know I'm gonna win, but at LEAST make me WORK for it."

That was all Shego was going to take! At that moment, she was completely resolved to winning this fight and she didn't care what she had to do to make it happen! As her hands flashed brighter and brighter, it looked as if she was putting all the energy she had left into one final all-out assault. An assault she launched a moment later and she ran forward, yelling in anger as her hands locked together into one giant fist!

"Ooooo," Max uttered in an impressed tone as he brought up his free hand, which suddenly burst with a flash of electricity! Tiny ribbons of electrical energy coiled up his arm and licked the air around him as Max confidently stood his ground against Shego, who wasn't backing down as she continued stampeding towards him. Then, as Shego scowled in rage and Max flashed a crazed grin of anticipation, both combatants lunged forward, their fists connecting in an explosion of clashing energies!

A loud boom echoed through the hangar as Kim and the others struggled to see through the blinding flash. But a moment later, it became all too clear who had won this last exchange. Shego had been thrown clear by the blast and was sent bouncing back along the hangar floor before rolling to a stop, lying face down as she struggled to get back up. But Max, meanwhile, was still on his feet, having only been knocked back a couple of steps! And if that wasn't enough, the worst he seemed to have taken was a slight twitch in the hand he'd used to counter Shego's attack!

"Oooohoohoohoohoohoohoooooo, tingly," he commented with a wicked chuckle, staring at his shuddering hand before turning back to Shego, "Now THAT'S more like it."

"Don't you…ever shut up?" Shego panted and she tried desperately to get back on her feet.

"Sheesh, I pay you a compliment and this is the thanks I get," Max responded, rolling his eyes through his sunglasses as he crossed his arms, "How many times have I told you to lighten up?"

Shego's only reply was a groan of effort as she lunged upward into a standing position, her hands starting to blaze once again. But by this time, Kim had seen just about enough. While she still didn't know any more than she did before about Max's full range of abilities, it was clear from the beginning that he could have ended this fight in 10 seconds if he'd wanted to. He was only prolonging it for his own amusement and was only interested in that end. Shego, however, was completely out of control. The recklessness of her last attack was proof of that. If this fight went on any more, it wouldn't be much longer before she got herself or someone else seriously hurt. And Kim wasn't about to let that happen just so Max could get a few more laughs.

"Come on," she motioned to Ron, "We've got to put a stop to this."

Just as Shego prepared to launch another attack, Kim and Ron leaped over the guardrail of the catwalk, landing right between her and Max. Kim stood with a firm defense, staring down Shego, while Ron placed Rufus on the floor before standing back up to face Max. Frowning in determination, Ron's body flashed as he clenched his fists tightly and changed into his Mystical Monkey Power form. But as soon as he saw Ron's transformation, Max's eyes suddenly went wide.

"Well…Mystical Monkey Power, huh?" Max commented with a chuckle, catching Ron off guard, "I thought that was what it was, but I wasn't sure. It's a magic that's been lost for so long. But wow…that is some pretty potent stuff you've got there. Man, I'm even MORE impressed now."

"W…wait a minute," Ron blurted out, still surprised by Max's statement as he turned to Rufus, would could only shrug in confusion himself, "How much do you know?"

"Oooo, a LOT," Max replied playfully with a wide grin.

"Uh, excuse me. Could we wrap this up? One of us has to be up at 1 a.m. so she can get to her classes on time," Kim interjected sarcastically as she turned her head in Max and Ron's direction. But Shego was quick to take advantage of the opening. And Max was actually caught off guard as he saw Shego run up, tagging Kim across the face with a roundhouse kick and sending her flying into the wall beside them!

"KIM!" Ron shouted, whirling around in fury and slamming his fist into the hangar floor, sending an avalanche of concrete in Shego's direction! But Shego simply rode out Ron's assault on a piece of the shifting floor, almost like a surfer on a wave as she landed safely a few feet away. Ron, meanwhile, could have continued attacking, but he was far more concerned about seeing to Kim's well-being as he and Rufus both ran over to her. Team Go, meanwhile, still stood on the catwalk, looking on in awe at what Ron had just done.

"Okay, how did he do that?" Mego asked. Hego, meanwhile, could only shrug his shoulders and shake his head with a wide-eyed expression.

"I'm okay," Kim said, rubbing her head with a slight groan as Ron helped her up to her feet. But Kim's frustration was far more focused on Max than it was on Shego and she and Ron both stood at the side, glaring at him.

"Don't you think this has gone on long enough?!" Kim yelled out, her words seeming to finally get through to Max. Looking around, the true impact of what was going on seemed to finally hit him. The destroyed parts of the hangar, Kim getting hurt, leading to her and Ron both getting angry at him. And then, there was Shego, who was so incensed, she didn't seem to be noticing anything except for Max. This had started out as just some harmless fun for him, but it was quickly drifting away from that. And as he began to realize it, all Max could do was slump his shoulders and sigh in concession.

"Agreed," he admitted quietly with a slight nod. But Shego had no intention of letting it end there as she charged forward again, ready for more! Kim and Ron immediately sprang into action, jumping back in between Shego and Max and bracing themselves to take Shego down if they had to. But it was as if Shego didn't even see them, she was so focused on destroying her real target. Before Kim and Ron could launch a counter attack, however, Max suddenly appeared in front of them, throwing out his hand and gently pressing his first two fingers against Shego's forehead.

"Relax," he said with a calm smile, "You've had a busy day."

Shego looked almost stunned as Max pressed his fingers against her, but a moment later, her eyes began to droop as she let out a groan and slumped over him, completely unconscious. As Shego hung off his shoulder, letting out sleepy sighs and moans, Max turned his attention to Kim and Ron. His expression, though, had definitely changed. It was far more somber than it had been just a few short moments ago.

"Sorry about that, Chief," he said with a shrug, "Sometimes I need a little smack in the head to get me back to reality."

With that, Max snapped his fingers and a brilliant flash filled the room. When it passed, the entire hangar was standing just as it was before! There was no indication that a battle had even taken place at all. Again, Kim and Ron could only look on in surprise again as Max tossed them a reassuring smile.

"Never let it be said that I don't clean up after myself," he stated before turning his attention back to a sleeping Shego, still hanging off him, "Okay, I've just gotta take her home now. Don't go anywhere, okay? I'll be right back."

And before anyone could say anything, Max and Shego had both disappeared in yet another burst of smoke and glitter. And as Team Go climbed down to join them, Kim and Ron were left standing in the middle of the room, shrugging at each other and trying to process exactly what all they had just witnessed.

* * *

DING DONG!

"Shego?! Are you back yet?! Get the door!" Dr. Drakken called from the back room as the sound of the doorbell echoed through the lair. But all he got was silence until he heard the doorbell ring a second time.

"Shego?! Are you out there?! Could you get the door please?!" Drakken called again. And again, silence was his only reply. A few moments later, the doorbell rang a third time.

"Shego, I mean it! If you could have gotten the door and I go out there to find you lounging around, I'm going to be really mad!" Drakken whined, his voice getting louder as he came closer to the main hall. But all he saw was an empty room. As the doorbell rang a fourth time, Drakken could only sigh and shrug as he walked across the main hall to the front door and opened it.

"Oh, thank you!" Maximillion Ambro rasped as he burst into the room, cradling an unconscious Shego in his arms. Desperately looking for a place to set her down, he stumbled across the room and placed her on an empty couch as gently, but as quickly as he could.

"Whew! Sorry about that. She's put on a little weight since the last time," Max panted, trying shake the aches from his arms before throwing up his hands in a cautionary gesture, "But…you didn't hear that from me."

"Ooookaaaaaaaay," Drakken replied, raising his eyebrow curiously, "And…you are…"

"Oh…I apologize again. Name's Maximillion Ambro, you can call me Max," Max replied as he walked back over to Drakken, giving his hand a welcoming shake, "And you must be the new guy. I've actually wanted to meet you for quite a while now. Look, can I just say what a HUGE relief it's been to know that she's finally found somebody? I mean, she had me REALLY worried for a while there."

"Uh huh," Drakken replied cynically, still not sure who this stranger was or what he was talking about, "And who are you again exactly?"

"Told you, the name's Max," Max replied, backing up to the front door of the lair, "Don't worry, we're going to have plenty of time to get to know each other. Anyway, she's had a bit of a rough day here, so if I were you, I would just let her sleep for as long as possible. And uh, FYI? If you've got anything particularly fragile in here, you might want to hide it somewhere, 'cause…when she wakes up, she's probably gonna want to start breaking things. Okay, gotta run. See ya in the funny papers."

With that, Max was gone, slamming the front door behind him and leaving Drakken still in a daze after his whirlwind introduction. Only a few sleepy murmurs from Shego caused him to turn his attention back to her, wondering what could have possibly happened as Shego curled up on the couch and continued to sleep.

* * *

"After Shego left the team…it just wasn't fun to be around her anymore," Max said with a shrug, sitting across from Kim, Ron and Rufus in the Mucho Grande Bueno Nacho with Team Go listening intently from the next booth, "So I got out…went to school…tried to get on with my life. Still, I'd be lying if I said I haven't been checking in on her from time to time. I WAS hoping those Child Development courses she took a few years back might turn her around, but I guess they didn't take."

"Riiiight. Look, I'm going to assume that whatever these abilities of yours are, you've had them for quite a while," Kim noted, a suspicious undertone lingering in her voice, "So why didn't you ever do something about her?"

"Well, I admit, the thought had occurred to me," Max replied simply, rolling his eyes thoughtfully, "But by the time I got out of college, you guys were already around. And you were doing a pretty good job of keeping her under control, so I figured, what did you need me for? Of course, once I found out about you guys, I found something new to be interested in."

Max paused briefly to take a sip of his Slurpster. But as he put it down, he looked intently at Kim and Ron, reaching up his hand and slowly pointing at them both one at a time.

"You…and you…are the reason I got back in the game."

Kim and Ron could only look at each other curiously. Even Rufus didn't know what to make of what Max had just said. But at that moment, Max's watch suddenly let out a pair of beeps.

"Oh man, would you look at that?" he thought out loud before leaning across the table towards Kim and Ron, "I'm sorry, but our time's up for today."

"Whoa Dude, where are you going?" Ron exclaimed as Max stood up from the booth and started walking off, "You didn't even tell us where you got your powers from or anything!"

"Yeah!" Rufus protested.

"What? It's not like the world's going to end tomorrow. We've got plenty of time to talk about that," Max replied before turning around and walking away again. Kim was silent for a long moment as Max headed for the door. But just as he reached for the handle, she finally spoke, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Wait…I have to know…," she said before turning around to look at him from the booth, "…Why us?"

Max didn't answer right away as he turned around to stare at her curious gaze. A moment later, his eyes stared out into space as he gave a thoughtful shrug.

"Curiosity, I guess," he finally replied, before offering her and Ron a reassuring, but still slightly excited smile, "I've been keeping an eye on you for quite a while now and I've gotta say, straight up…you guys have just blown my mind. Honestly…I can't wait to see what you two are going to be capable of when you actually get to legal age."

"Uh huh. And, uh…just what makes you think you're going to start rolling with us?" Kim asked cynically. After all, it was more than just a little presumptuous of Max to think he could just invite himself to join their team. But when presented with Kim's question, Max simply gave a lighthearted chuckle.

"What, are you kidding? Come on, you're gonna like having me around," he replied, pulling out his sunglasses before tossing them a playful wink, "Trust me."

With that, Max put on his sunglasses and twirled his cane before slinging it over his shoulder and turning back to the door with a happy whistle. And as Kim and the others looked on, he seemed to vanish into thin air as he walked outside. There didn't seem to be anything more they could do, so Kim and Ron simply turned back to their table. But Team Go had other thoughts on their mind besides just Max.

"Man, Shego has NEVER been that mad before…Whatever happened between them, it couldn't have been good," The Wego Twins thought out loud. Hego and Mego could only nod in agreement from the other side of their booth.

"Maybe," Kim said, looking at Ron as they maneuvered themselves into the conversation, "Still, he did seem to go out of his way not to hurt Shego through that whole fight. It kind of makes me wonder…do you think he still has feelings for her?"

"There was a time he never would have left her," Hego answered with a shrug, "I guess…he just grew up faster than she did."

A brief moment of silence followed as no one was sure exactly what to say or do next. Suddenly, the beep of the Kimmunicator sounded off, instantly getting Kim's attention.

"Go Wade," she announced, eager for something she could wrap her head around after a day of well-rounded craziness.

"Kim, I think I may have something," Wade said, rattling off on his keyboard, "I don't have it nailed down yet, it's kind of a long shot. But if what I found does have something to do with Maximillion Ambro, I wanted to let you know right away. Because…well…if this is accurate, we may be in over our heads on this one."

"How 'over'?" Kim asked, not feeling particularly reassured.

"Well, since I didn't have anything else to go on, I thought I'd start by going through historical records and myths, hoping I could find any ancestors with backgrounds in magic," Wade explained, "And while I was doing that, I came across one name over and over…Aurelius Ambrosius."

"Hmmm, Ambrosius…Ambro…sounds promising," Kim said thoughtfully, "Who was he?"

"Are you kidding? He was a legend," Wade answered, "The man grew up to be one of the greatest wizards of all time."

"Well…not to sound arrogant or anything, but if this guy was so great, how come I've never heard of him?" Kim responded with a shrug.

"Kim," Wade looked right at her with a serious gaze, "Aurelius Ambrosius was the birth name of Merlin."

"MERLIN!?!?!?" Kim, Ron and Team Go yelled into the Kimmunicator with unified shock! Even Rufus had to let out a shocked chatter. Just then, a gentle rap was heard at the window beside them. And they all turned their stunned expressions to the window, only to see Max standing outside with his digital camera in hand.

"Say cheese!"

FLASH!!!

Looking at the newly saved picture, Max could only laugh out loud with glee as he vanished into thin air. Meanwhile, Kim and the others could only stare outside the window with looks of shock frozen to their faces.

"Something tells me…our lives just got a LOT more complicated," Kim uttered, her jaw still hanging open.

* * *

A small forest off the coast of England…

All was quiet. Birds were chirping, the wind was rustling through the trees. At first glance, there would be absolutely nothing to indicate that anything was out of the ordinary in such a peaceful, secluded place. Unless of course, someone chanced to look at down and notice a rather large mound of earth slinking along the ground like a snake.

The strange mound continued moving on deeper into the forest, until it arrived at a small cave. Upon reaching the entrance, the earth seemed to grow and shift, forming into a large, crude human shape, with blood red eyes…the same red eyes that had been spying on Kim and Ron the day before in Go City. With only a simple grunt, the giant of sand trudged inside the cave. After a few minutes, the tunnel opened up into a dark room where a lone figure sat in the shadows.

"You've kept me waiting for two days," a female voice rose from the darkness, "You'd better have good news for me."

"Far be it for me to question your great wisdom, Milady," the sand figure spoke in a tone that seemed far more intelligent and civilized than its lumbering form would have anyone believe, "But had you wanted me to arrive sooner, would it not have been a simple matter for you to bring me here yourself with your…?"

"I don't want to hear the end of any sentences!" the female stranger commanded, throwing up her hand in dismissal, "Tell me…you found him."

"I have," the behemoth replied as a twisted smile crossed its cragged face. Upon hearing his answer, the female stranger flashed a smile of her own that could even be seen in the darkness.

"Show me."

Rising to her feet, the strange woman walked forward to her giant servant, pressing her fingers to its protruding forehead to see the image in its mind. The image was the same one from the day before, Kim and Ron standing in front of Maximillion Ambro and the defeated Electronique. Seeing the image for herself, the woman could only let out an evil chuckle of satisfaction.

"So…you're the new Merlin," she gloated, "Well…don't get too comfortable with that title…"

The woman paused as her hand suddenly blazed with fire, lighting up the entire cave. As light filled the room, the giant saw the image of its master, with long, sandy blond hair, eyes such a light blue they almost seemed to glow and a gray plated body armor with a flowing red cape. Suddenly, her face flashed an evil grin as she tightly clutched the long wooden staff in her free hand.

"…Because as of right now…," she hissed wickedly, "…you're mine."

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. Chapter 2

Kim Possible: The More Things Change…  
Part 2  
By Aaron

…Roughly seven years ago…

He can see it so clearly. It's as if he's floating outside of his body, looking out over the foothills towards a forest with a small mountain in the center. Then, as if being pushed by an unseen force, he flies right into the forest, faster than he ever thought possible. And yet, he manages to deftly fly over, around and under every tree and branch standing in his way, as if he clearly knew everything that was going to be in front of him. Within seconds, he reaches the mountain and flies around it to discover a small opening, just barely big enough for a grown man to fit through. But just then, at that instant, a blinding flash bursts forth from the entrance…!

…and then he wakes up…

Maximillion Ambro sat up in his bed, a look of shock plastered across his face. It was the same dream again. He stopped counting how many times he'd had it a long time ago, but for some reason he still couldn't get used to it. It started when he was 16 years old, coming to him once every few months. But over the last couple of years, it started becoming more frequent. Once a month…then once every couple of weeks…then once a week. Now, it was almost every night that he woke up from it. And always, it was the exact same dream, right down to the last detail. All around that little forest in England with the small mountain nestled right in the middle of it…

But…why England? For that matter…how could he possibly KNOW that?

Max could only give a frustrated sigh of confusion as he looked around his room. His duffel bag sat at the foot of his bed, fully packed and the plane ticket was lying right on his bed table. It had been like pulling teeth to persuade Alice, the head of the group home he lived in, to provide the money for the flight. Especially since that money was coming from a savings bond for his college education, one of several she had set up for every child in the home. And it didn't help his case that he didn't have an exit strategy for his trip. He had no idea where he was going when he got there and no idea when he'd be coming back…or even IF he was going to be coming back at all. It took almost a month to finally wear her down. He did everything but get down on his knees and beg, although he was certainly glad it didn't have to come to that. But he KNEW this was the right decision. Every molecule in his body was telling him that it was right. He HAD to do this, even if he didn't know WHY. Although…maybe that WAS his reason for going…to FIND OUT why.

Of course, Alice had been the easy part. As his eyes turned slightly to the phone sitting beside his plane ticket, Max couldn't help but sigh, because he knew the HARD part was about to begin. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened to make her run off, probably another fight with her brothers. But he hadn't seen her in over a month. And even before that, the last couple times he'd been out with her weren't exactly memorable. She'd been snippy and on edge. Still, in the last month, he'd tried so many times to call her, but she never once attempted to contact him. She may even have another phone number, but all he had was the old one. Still, even though she hadn't been around to tell, Max still didn't feel right springing this on her at the last minute. He wasn't sure how she'd react to him going. Still, he knew he couldn't put it off any longer. Dawn was just breaking as he looked out the window. If she was going to be around, it would HAVE to be now. Taking a deep breath and steadying himself, he picked up the phone and began dialing…

The answering machine…big surprise. Max rolled his eyes as the message played, but as he heard the beep to begin recording, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

"Hey, Shego," he said uneasily, "Look, I don't know how you're going to feel about this, but I can't wait until you're around to tell you. I'm…well, I'm leaving for England today…and I don't know where I'm going or when I'll be back. I know I should have told you sooner, I'm sorry for that. Look, I'll try to give you a call from wherever I land and…"

Max stammered into the phone, trying to sound civil. But the more he spoke, the more he couldn't help thinking about how Shego had just been gone for an entire month without telling him or trying to talk to him. And the more he spoke, the more he felt his frustration growing until he finally let out an angry sigh.

"…Look, you know what, Shego?! Forget it! Just forget it! Because this just isn't working, okay?! You know, you run off, you don't tell me where you're going. I've been trying to get ahold of you for a month and I'm betting you haven't so much as picked up the phone! So if that's the way it's gonna be, then forget you! We're done, okay?! Call me if you want, Shego, but don't expect me to be here!"

Max was feeling pretty pleased with himself as he slammed the phone down. However, as he looked around the room, he still had to come to one conclusion in response to what he had just done.

"She's going to kill me," he thought out loud before rising from his bed, "Oh well, can't worry about that now. I've got a plane to catch."

* * *

…Five weeks later…

Tired and dirty, Max was sitting in the back of an old pickup truck from a nearby farmer who'd been kind enough to give him a lift. He'd done alright for himself the first little while, but at around the four week mark, his money had soon dwindled down to nothing. He'd managed to work for food, but he no longer had any money for hotels or inns, so he'd had no chances to clean up and he barely slept more than a few hours a night in the outdoors. More and more, this trip was starting to look like a huge mistake. But at the same time, he could feel something inside, urging him on. No matter how bad it looked at this point, he knew in his heart he couldn't quit now. And in a way, it actually made him feel a feel a distinct swelling of pride to keep going. Never in all his life had he ever been this motivated before. And he found himself smiling as he raised his head up and looked around to examine the lush English countryside before him. But just then, a sight greeted him that made his eyes grow wide in shock.

"Whoa! Whoa!" he called to the farmer as he rapped furiously on the back window, "Stop here!"

The truck slowly came to a halt with a loud creak as Max jumped from the back. Running a few yards off the road, his eyes were still as big as dinner plates as he dropped his duffel bag and nearly crumpled to his knees. He was here, he knew it. This was the exact place he'd seen in his dream. The green foothills, the forest just off in the distance, with the small mountain just peeking out of the center. His dream had been real all along, there WAS a reason he had come all this way. And as that realization hit home, he didn't know whether to laugh, cry or run away screaming in terror.

"Hey lad, are you sure THIS is where you want to get off?! There's nothin' out here!" the farmer called to him from the truck. But Max barely acknowledged him as he continued staring out at the scenery with awe, his brain still trying to process how such a place could actually exist.

"Oh yeah," he replied with a slow nod, "I'm sure."

"Well, if you're sure then!" the farmer called back as he shifted his truck back into gear, "I'll tell the lads in the next town where you are. They can send someone to look for you if you end up getting lost!"

"Yeah, thanks…you do that," Max said, still entranced by the sight before him. As the farmer drove off, Max picked up his duffel bag from the ground and cautiously began his slow trek towards the forest.

As he made his way through the trees, Max felt a huge swell of anxiety building up inside him. It was frightening how he seemed to be navigating his way through so effortlessly, as if he knew every square inch of this forest by heart. But how was that possible? He'd never been to England in his life. Shivering slightly, he began to have doubts, not knowing exactly what to think. He knew he couldn't stop now, not after coming so far, but still, this was just getting FAR too strange. And yet, at the same time, he could feel his uncertainty being mixed with a feeling of…anticipation. It felt as though he was like a kid at Christmas, running down the stairs knowing that presents would be under the tree, waiting for him. Just one more thing he didn't understand. But suddenly, all thoughts left his mind and he felt his heart jump into his throat as he broke through the treeline and found himself staring directly at the base of the small mountain.

As he slowly made his way around the base of the mountain, Max found himself almost hoping that he wouldn't find what he was about to find next, even though he somehow knew with absolute certainty that he would. And as turned around a large rock and found the narrow opening, he had to admit, his heart sank a little bit. More and more, he was starting to wonder if he really wanted to see this through. And yet, he knew he couldn't stop whether he wanted to or not. It was just like in his dream, as if some unseen force was guiding him onward.

Hesitating slightly, he pensively put his hand inside the cavern entrance. And he winced as he thought for sure that same white light would come and hit him the face. As he opened one eye slightly, he could see that nothing happened, but it still remained to be seen if that was a good thing or not. And so, sighing heavily and swallowing hard, he placed his duffel bag down beside the cavern entrance and slowly squeezed his way inside.

It was definitely a tight fit as Max inched his way through the tiny crack in the mountain. After a while, it seemed almost endless and the longer it went on, the more Max began to worry. He kept picturing himself at any moment getting a hand stuck…or a foot…or even his head…and then that would pretty much be it. He'd be stuck there until he starved to death. It didn't seem like the kind of thinking that should be coming from someone who'd faced danger before, but this wasn't like when Max was standing alongside Team Go. They had super powers, they could back him up. He could afford to be cocky then. But this time, he was by himself. If something happened…

But before he could think any more about it, Max's hand reached out and suddenly felt open space! Feeling a surge of excitement and relief at finally getting out of that cramped tunnel, Max scurried along as fast as he could and finally popped out onto the other side. He took a few moments to stretch and take some actual deep breaths, something he wasn't able to do for the whole time he was in the tunnel. But as he finally turned around to see the destination his effort had brought him, his eyes widened in awe.

The cavern room seemed to go on all the way to the top of the mountain, with a small opening at the top for sunlight to enter and illuminate the entire area. There were stalagmites and stalactites of every shape and size peppering the ceiling and floor. It really was a sight to behold and for a moment, Max was a little disappointed that he'd left his camera outside with his duffel bag. Some pictures of this place would REALLY be a highlight of his trip. But as he looked over, something else caught his attention that instantly made him forget about his camera. Lying in the center of the room, glittering from the sunlight shining down, was a deep freshwater spring. It seemed odd to Max that such a thing would exist here, but he was even more surprised by what was in front of it. Standing in front of the spring was what almost looked like a podium made of rock, with a large thick book placed on top of it.

Walking over to the podium, Max found a wooden stick placed on top of the book, about 12 inches long, smoothed and fashioned to a dull point. But Max paid it no attention as he casually set it aside. He was actually more interested in what a book could possibly be doing in a mountain like this, as if anything else he had gone through up to that moment had made any sense either. Opening the cover, the first page was written in a language he'd never seen before and didn't understand, yet still seemed strangely familiar to him. But as Max touched the book in an attempt to turn the page, the words began to give off an eerie glow. And before Max could react, a white light burst from the book and completely enveloped him!

Max felt like he'd been taken to another place, but he couldn't make sense of what was around him. He was surrounded by white light everywhere and his mind was being bombarded by hundreds of images within a span of seconds. He saw faces he'd never seen before, but somehow, knew…places and events he'd never been to, but somehow recognized. And as the sensory assault continued, Max could feel his heart pounding as fear began to grip him hard. All these people and places and feelings and wants and needs…it was all too much! He couldn't get his head around any of it!

Suddenly, in a second brilliant flash of light, Max stumbled backwards and fell onto the cavern floor. He was back where he was, but his panic had refused to fade. He kept seeing hundreds of faces, one passing in front of his eyes before disappearing and being replaced by another. He could hear hundreds of voices screaming at him but he couldn't understand what they were trying to say. He didn't know who was who or what was what! Did he even know who HE was anymore? The confusion was overwhelming, like a black tide that never ebbed, threatening to drown his mind!

Just then, just like a light leading him to the surface, the stick he had put down beside the book began to glow. Desperate for any kind of relief, he scrambled back to the podium without even thinking and grabbed onto the stick as tightly as he could! And just then, the glow coming from it trailed up his arm and slowly began to surround him, almost like being immersed in warm water. In that instant, all his fear was gone. His heart slowed, his breathing became steady. All the pieces of images, so fractured and twisted in his mind, suddenly came together into a clear picture. The voices that were so chaotic and distorted before now hummed in a gentle symphony, growing softer and slowly vanishing into the back of his mind. And as he opened his eyes and looked around the cavern once again, he couldn't help but smile…

He understood.

At that moment, Max suddenly found himself very amused, even chuckling a little. He thought back to how he couldn't make sense of anything just a short moment ago, but now it was all…so obvious. And as he kept looking around, everything just seemed…brighter…more alive. It was as if he'd been given new eyes and was seeing the real world for the very first time. Or maybe it was simply the first time his eyes were seeing everything they COULD see.

Then he paused to look down at the wand in his hand. He knew what it was now. In fact, he actually couldn't believe he didn't know it before. A moment later, the wand began to glow again as it grew and refashioned itself into a long black cane right before his eyes. That might have shocked him before. But now, it just seemed very funny as he found himself looking back to the person he was. It was just a few short minutes that had taken place between who he was and who he'd just become, but it might as well have been an entire lifetime. He kept thinking about how he once looked at the world around him, how uncertain he used to be about so many things. Now all he could think about was how little he really knew about himself before this moment and suddenly, it all just seemed like a joke. At that moment, he looked up at the sunlight beaming down from the opening at the top of the mountain and he couldn't help chuckling a little harder. Then suddenly, he flopped backwards onto the ground, basking in the moment as he let his giggles turn into hysterical laughter that echoed through the cave…

* * *

Present Day…

"Lunchtime Rufus!" Ron announced, "You hungry buddy?"

"Mmmhmm mmmhmm," Rufus chattered, cheerfully nodding his head as Ron made his way to the gates of Middleton Community College. He knew Kim's university classes would be wrapping up anytime. And since her car made the whole world a five-minute commute, a lunch date at Bueno Nacho was definitely pending. After two days, Ron was already settling into the new groove and it looked as though things were starting to work out very well. More and more, it was starting to look like Kim was right. Going to different colleges halfway around the world had absolutely no hope of keeping them apart. They were going to have plenty of time for just the two of them. But just as Ron reached the campus gates…

"A-HEM!! Mr. Stoppable," Kevin Barkin's baritone voice boomed through the air, forcing Ron's heart to jump up into his throat, "I understand you were late for another class yesterday. I'm starting to see a bit of a disturbing pattern here. I don't know how it worked with my cousin in high school, but I say, if you want to take your post-secondary education seriously, you'd better straighten up and fly right."

A couple days ago, Ron would have had a complete nervous breakdown over Barkin's sudden appearance. But after all the weirdness he'd had with Kim involving Maximillion Ambro over the last two days, first with Electronique and then with Shego, Barkin's complaining just seemed very trivial. And he was in no mood for it as he calmed down and tossed an annoyed frown over his shoulder in Barkin's direction.

"Excuse me. 'Pattern'? What 'pattern'? The school year is only two days old," Ron protested, with Rufus drumming up enough courage to run up onto Ron's shoulder and chatter angrily in Barkin's direction, "You know what, dude? If this relationship is going to work, you are going to have to start acting a lot less Barkin-y. And keeping the stalking to a minimum might not be a bad place to start."

"EXCUSE ME! Do you mind?!" A voice called out before Barkin had a chance to argue back. A faint rustling followed, causing Barkin and Ron to turn to the large tree beside them. A second later, Maximillion Ambro popped his head out from the leaves, hanging upside down from a branch with his cane under his arm, his digital camera in his hand and a whiny frown across his face.

"You are RUINING bird watching for me!"

Ron and Rufus could only give each other a concerned look. After two days, they still didn't know what to make of this guy. But Barkin wasn't the least bit concerned or amused as he stormed over to Max, looking into his upside down eyes with an annoyed glare.

"Explanation NOW!" he bellowed. Max, meanwhile, didn't seem the least bit concerned either as he simply looked back at Barkin with a deadpan gaze.

"I beg your pardon. I believe I've made my intentions perfectly clear," he objected, flipping out of the tree and landing on his feet without a care, "Bird watching. It's a hobby of mine, one of several. You should think about taking one up yourself sometime 'Kev'. Maybe then you'll lighten up a little."

"I'm keeping an eye on you, Mister. You step out of line once…just once…" Barkin spoke under his breath. But his words didn't seem to intimidate Max in the least as he simply looked Barkin in the eyes with a confident smirk before giving a little shrug.

"Well then, as the saying goes…," he said before twirling around Barkin, who turned to see Max pointing the digital camera right in his face, "…catch me if you can."

FLASH!!!

Barkin was blinded only a second by the camera's flash, but as he turned and looked around frantically, Maximillion had completely disappeared. Only Ron was in the immediate area, sharing a confused look with Rufus. But Ron had no longer become his main target as Barkin pointed a finger in his direction.

"We're not done yet," he warned before running off to look for Max. But as soon as Barkin was out of sight, Ron heard a snickering coming from beside him as a giggling Max poked his head out from behind the same tree he'd been sitting in just a moment ago.

"See, I told you he was going to be fun," Max announced cheerfully.

"Riiiiight," Ron replied, still unsure what to make of the situation, "Look, just as long as you don't try that kind of stuff with Kim, okay? Not if you want her on your side, anyway."

"Why? What's up?" Max asked simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"What, are you kidding?! She doesn't know you, man! She doesn't trust you!" Ron blurted out in response, as if he couldn't believe Max had just asked such a question, "All she knows is some guy who used to date one of her arch foes showed up one day with magic powers. And she doesn't know what he's going to end up using those powers for."

"Is that how YOU feel?" he asked Ron, his tone becoming slightly more serious. Ron, however, was stuck for a way to answer that question. On one hand, he definitely understood where Kim's was coming from, not fully trusting Max. But still, he had to remember that Max was the one who saved Kim from Electronique back in Go City two days ago. And that one act still carried a lot of weight, as far as Ron was concerned.

"Look, I'm just giving you a heads up, okay? Kim is NOT Shego. You want her to be down with you, you'd better start getting on her good side pretty fast." Ron said in place of answering Max's question. Max, meanwhile, simply gave Ron a blank stare before shrugging his shoulders.

"Hm…Well anyway, good job standing up to Kev, back there. I think you're finally starting to get it," he stated before walking off. Ron, unsure what he meant, could only look at Rufus, who shrugged in confusion.

"Get what?"

"That some things are more important than others," Max replied simply, looking back over his shoulder towards Ron, "And the things that aren't so important…well, they're really not worth worrying about, are they? Well…see you around."

With that, Max began to walk back to the campus buildings. Ron, meanwhile, simply looked on as if he had something to say, but he wasn't sure if he should say it. Still, he couldn't help but think back to what Max had said to him after he'd transformed into his Mystical Monkey Power form at the Go Tower the day before…

…"Well…Mystical Monkey Power, huh?…That is some pretty potent stuff you've got there. Man, I'm even MORE impressed now."…

"Hey, wait a minute! Can I ask you something?" Ron called out, knowing he was acting against his better judgment. Max, however, paused and turned with a smirk.

"Ask me something?" he replied, "Even though you DON'T fully trust me?"

"Well…it's just…" Ron struggled to find the right way to make his point before he just up and blurted it out, "You know about magic, right? How it works?"

"Oh, I've been known to dabble here and there," Max replied jokingly as a ball of light appeared in his hand before exploding into glitter like a firework, "What's on your mind?"

"Well…" Ron sighed, sitting down on a nearby bench, "…did you ever do something that you weren't sure you deserved the credit for?"

"Where are you going with this?" Max asked curiously as he walked over sat down beside him. Ron didn't answer right away, however. He needed a moment to gather his thoughts.

"It's just…well, I was never really all that good when it came to the punching and the kicking part of the hero thing," Ron finally said, "But ever since I got this Monkey stuff to work for me full-time, I've been going out there and I've been able to really help Kim out when it comes to fighting off the bad guys. And it's been great…at first. But…the last little while, I've started to wonder…is it really me who's going out there and doing all that stuff?"

"Ah…I think I get what you're saying," Max replied, nodding slowly.

"I mean, when I'm out there in a fight, I don't even think about it anymore. I just do it, you know?" Ron continued, "But sometimes, when I'm at home, I look in the mirror, and I don't see a fighter, I don't see some great warrior. All I see is me. And it just makes me think…what really happened? Did I do that? Or was it all the magic and was I just along for the ride? And if it really WAS the magic, well…what does that say about me?"

Max didn't give him an answer right away. He simply sat back on the bench and let out a sigh. But then, his lips curled into an amused half smile, as if he knew exactly what the answer was to Ron's doubts.

"Look, I'm gonna give one of the basic rules of magic, okay? Magic, I won't lie, is an UNBELEIVABLY powerful factor," Max stated, not really making Ron feel any better until he continued, "But it's been my experience that no matter how powerful a magic is…only the person USING the magic can determine how much of its power is given to them. They have to have what it takes to get the most out of it. So take a minute and ask yourself…do you think you've gotten the most out of yours?"

Upon hearing the question, Ron's mind immediately began drifting back. He still remembered with crystal clarity the night he first got the Mystical Monkey Power and his first fight with Monkey Fist. Granted, that victory had been pretty much a fluke more than anything, but then he started flashing forward, to his win over Fukushima at the Yamanouchi school in Japan, defeating an entire team of Monkey Fist's monkey ninjas all by himself just a few months later. Of course, those victories paled in comparison to his defeat of the monstrous alien warriors, Warmonga and Warhok just a few short months ago, when his power truly exploded. Since then, it had just been full speed ahead for him. His most recent thoughts were when he helped Kim defeat Gemini's WEE henchman at a Global Justice facility. Not to mention destroying a 25-ton force gauge when Global Justice tried to measure his strength, then matching punch for punch with a giant robot that Gemini had stolen from a GJ storage area later that same day.

"Wow," Ron uttered under his breath, his eyes widening slightly as the answer slowly became clearer and clearer the more he thought about it. Max was quick to notice the change in Ron's expression and he had to smile as it seemed Ron was finally starting to understand what he meant. Realizing that Ron was slowly getting into the right way of thinking, Max simply gave a hollow chuckle.

"There…you see?" he said, getting Ron's attention by gently nudging his shoulder with his fist before getting up from the bench to walk off. However, he did pause to turn back to Ron for a brief moment.

"Give yourself a little credit, kid," he added, tossing Ron a reassuring grin as he slung his cane over his shoulder, "You're stronger than you think."

That said, Max calmly strolled off, leaving Ron to his thoughts. He stayed on the bench for a moment longer, but as he stared out across the campus, a look of confidence began to etch itself into his smile. And at that moment, Ron felt instantly renewed and even let out a little laugh as he performed a quick one-armed handstand on the bench before flipping to his feet. Rufus, meanwhile, simply looked on with a surprised expression before Ron grabbed him and put him in his pocket. What he didn't notice is a lone figure stepping out from the shadows behind the bench. The same woman with long sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes who had been watching them the day before.

"Now I've got you," she hissed wickedly with a twisted grin as Ron ran off. Ron meanwhile, didn't seem to have a care in the world anymore as he headed off to meet Kim like he'd intended. Suddenly, as he'd turned to head down the block, something wrapped around his waist and held him tight!

"Whoa!" he blurted out in surprise as a pair of hands softly ran up his chest. But before he could react…

"Mmmmm, hey you," Kim cooed in his ear as she kissed his cheek and pulled herself against him, "I thought I'd pick you up and surprise you today."

Ron could only let out a warm smile as Kim loosened her grip just enough for him to turn around and face her. And he didn't waste a second to also fold his arms around her as they softly nuzzled against each other.

"Hey, if there's a better surprise than this, I don't know what it is," Ron replied as they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. They remained frozen in the moment for as long as they could before Kim hugged his arm and walked with him back to her car where she'd been waiting for him.

"I'm thinking something simple, but romantic for lunch today," she said with a playful lilt in her voice as she put her head on his shoulder, "What do you say to you and me under a nice big tree in Middleton Park with some Bueno Nacho takeout? Sound good to you?"

"Hey, you know me," Ron said with a cheerful shrug, "I'm down for anything that has you and me in the equation."

Kim couldn't help but smile as she snuggled against him a little tighter, but just then, her expression suddenly became very serious. As much as she wanted the moment to last for as long as she could, there was one topic she felt she had to bring up.

"So…have you run into HIM yet today?" she asked cynically. And Ron swallowed hard as he knew she could only be referring to Maximillion. Even Rufus had to let out a whimper of worry, since there was no way of knowing exactly what answer Ron could give. After all, even though Kim wouldn't likely throw a fit, Ron knew she probably wouldn't be too thrilled if she found out he had been willingly talking to him.

"Well…" Ron started apprehensively. But before he could finish, a blinding flash exploded in front of them! Momentarily blinded, Kim and Ron could only hear a loud shriek of wicked laughter before their eyes cleared to see the mysterious armored woman floating in the air just above Kim's car.

"At last I've found you!" she gloated menacingly, pointing her staff towards them, "After all this time! Did you really think you'd gotten rid of me forever?!"

"Is…she talking to you?" Kim asked, looking at Ron with a confused look.

"I've never seen her before in my life," Ron could only answer with a shrug. The floating woman, meanwhile, was only growing angrier at being so blatantly ignored.

"Enough!" she bellowed, pointing her staff to the street in front of them, "Now!"

Rufus jumped out of Ron's pocket and start sniffing around to determine what she was pointing at. Just then, it was as if the ground itself seemed to shift! And Rufus shrieked as a huge figure of sand burst from the street! Before either Kim or Ron could react, the giant lashed out, its arms turning into thick pillars of sand that swallowed them both up to their necks and slammed them into the wall of the campus! The strange woman, meanwhile, could only looked on with twisted satisfaction, slowly floating down to Ron as he and Kim both struggled to escape the sand creature's crushing pressure.

"I can't tell you how long I've waited for this," she hissed as her eyes seemed to glow, "Waiting for the chance to pay you back for everything you did to me."

"Lady, I don't know what you're talking about!" Ron protested, feeling more confused than threatened as he continued to struggle, "I don't even know you!"

"Uh…Milady?" the sand giant spoke in its calm, civilized tone, "Perhaps your brilliance is executing a strategy that I am incapable of comprehending, but…why are we attacking them? This is not the one we're looking for."

"What are you babbling about?!" she yelled back, glaring at her servant.

"Milady," the giant replied cautiously, "You're not wearing your eyepieces again."

"What?! Oh, of all the ridiculous…" the woman seemed almost embarrassed as she stayed in mid-air rummaging through her armor. Finally, she found what she was looking for as she pulled out a pair of round, thick eyeglasses and put them on before staring at Ron's face intently, her face just inches away from his.

"Uh, excuse me? I usually try not to get all territorial, but you're in a section of personal space that's typically reserved for ME!" Kim called over in an irritated tone as the woman continued examining Ron's face. Suddenly, her face widened in surprise as she finally made a realization.

"Wait…you really AREN'T him!" she exclaimed, sounding slightly confused, "But if you're not him, what's this aura I sense from you?! Only magical energies can produce an aura THIS strong!"

"Go ahead Ron," Kim replied with a sly grin, "The nice lady asked us a question. It would be rude not to give her an answer."

Ron simply returned Kim's smirk before turning his attention back to the strange woman, who suddenly looked very apprehensive, as if she was sensing that something was about to happen. As her eyes went wide, she instantly turned and dove behind Kim's car. A wise move as it turned out. A second later, Ron transformed into his Mystical Monkey Power form, unleashing a pulse of energy that crushed the sand giant's arm back into the particles that formed it! Without a pause, Ron turned his body around as he landed, throwing his arms forward and sending a wave of pure force crashing into the giant's other arm! Kim quickly landed a moment later as the creature's other arm disintegrated and within seconds, she and Ron stood side by side, ready for the REAL fight to begin. But the armored woman wasn't in the mood for any such battle as she peered up from behind Kim's car with a stern frown.

"This REALLY isn't how I was hoping this would go," she sighed, lifting her hand as Kim and Ron charged forward. And suddenly, Kim and Ron found themselves stopped short by an invisible wall, bringing the fight to an immediate end. Feeling more secure, the woman merely smirked as she walked towards them while Kim and Ron pounded on the barrier with everything they had.

"I see, so THAT'S the source of your aura," she spoke confidently as she turned to leave, "Very interesting."

"Hey, come on! We weren't finished yet!" Ron shouted after her as he and Kim still tried to break free.

"I am!" the woman replied sternly, tossing a quick glance back over her shoulder, "Your power is quite impressive, I must admit. But I didn't come here for YOU…at least, not yet."

"Then who ARE you after?" Kim asked, even though she fully expected not to get an answer. Just then, another figure stepped onto the scene.

"That would probably be me," as they all turned to see Maximillion Ambro standing just a few feet away, wearing the same outfit and hairstyle he'd worn against Electronique and Shego, with his cane slung over his shoulder. And as she turned to face him, the strange woman instantly glared in rage as she gripped her staff tightly.

"You," she hissed through her teeth, "It IS you, isn't it? You even have the same wretched aura as before…Merlin."

"That's a VERY old name for me," Max responded, although his tone seemed more serious than his usual, lighthearted air, "Although to be honest, I could have gone a lot longer without seeing YOU."

"Gee, let me guess," Kim responded sarcastically, "Another ex-girlfriend?"

"HAH! In her dreams!" Max answered abruptly, almost wanting to laugh. The woman, meanwhile, was in no mood for laughter as a ball of fire appeared in her hand, hurtling it straight at him! But Max showed no look of concern as he flicked his wrist and his cane flashed in an upward strike, hitting the fireball and bursting it into nothing!

"Please…you haven't changed, have you? Did you REALLY think that would work?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh, you'll find that I'm hardly the same as I was before," the woman replied as flew towards him at top speed, lunging forward with her staff. But Max effortlessly blocked the blow, fighting her as he had fought Shego the day before, using his cane like a sword. Kim instantly noticed that while this woman may have had incredibly poor eyesight, her fighting style was top-notch. She was very skilled, especially using her staff as a weapon. But again, Max didn't seem the least bit concerned as his opponent didn't seem to be making any more headway against him than Shego did. Each of her attacks, he either blocked, deflected or dodged with ease until he crossed his cane against the woman's staff, struggling against her in a firm standoff.

"Oh…so you've got a body that can actually fight now, huh? Not bad…" he noted before tossing the woman a smirk. But just then, he opened the palm of his free hand, unleashing a wave of force that blew the woman back and sent her bouncing along the sidewalk! Meanwhile, her sand giant servant, instantly sensing danger, leapt to the woman's aid, charging forward and lashing out at Max with its rebuilt arms! But Max simply smiled as he raised his hand, his fingers just barely touching the creature and turning its entire body into the most brittle glass! A glass that instantly shattered to dust as Max firmly flicked it with his finger. Meanwhile, the woman had managed to struggle to her feet and could only scowl back as Max grinned at her confidently.

"…But you're going to have to do a LOT better than that."

"You should be more careful what you wish for," The woman threatened as she and the remains of her creature began to fade into vapor, her voice echoing on the breeze, "I'm just getting started!"

As soon as the mysterious woman vanished, the barrier surrounding Kim and Ron disappeared as well, allowing Rufus to come out of hiding and rejoin them. Ron was perfectly happy to have Rufus back in his pocket. But Kim, meanwhile, was just getting all the more aggravated as she stormed over to Max.

"Well?" she spoke out angrily, "Mind explaining why you didn't feed us THIS little tidbit of information?"

"Well, to be honest, I didn't think I'd ever HAVE to. THIS wasn't even supposed to happen," Max argued, staring back to where the woman had just stood as he let out a whining sigh, "Honestly, does no one have respect for my timetable?"

"ENOUGH ABOUT YOUR TIMETABLE!!!" Kim hollered, showing no fear about getting in Max's face, "Now you listen to me Max or Merlin or whatever you want to call yourself! I am not about to sit around, waiting for every skeleton in your closet to come jumping out at us one at a time! So either you start giving us some answers or you can just go back to whatever cloud it is you floated down from!"

"Uh, dude? Remember that nice little talk we had about getting on her good side?" Ron's voice lowered to a whisper as he indicated that now might not be the best time to refuse a request from Kim, who could only stand glaring at him. Max, meanwhile, simply looked back to where the mysterious woman had been standing and gave a serious frown, again, not an expression he usually showed. Whatever was going on, it was becoming clear that this was not in his plan.

"My office. This afternoon. After his last class," he stated as he turned and walked off. There didn't seem to be anything more Kim and Ron could do. They could only do as he requested and hope that he would actually be there.

* * *

Kim was outside Ron's classroom so she could meet him immediately after his final class and together, they both made their way to Max's office in silence. They had tried their best to enjoy lunch together, but being attacked in broad daylight just a few minutes earlier was definitely a mood killer. And Kim didn't like that one bit. Granted, he'd dropped a few pearls of wisdom in Ron's direction to help him cope with an all-new Barkin and yes, he'd also helped them in the fight against Electronique. But between the disappearing acts, bizarre attitude, powers that seemed to have no limit, a secretive past that included dating Shego and NOW getting attacked by strange enemies out for his head, the drawbacks to having this guy around were FAR outweighing any benefits. And Kim was already determined that she wasn't about to put up with his presence at all until she knew what he was all about. Still, as they reached the door to his office, they both seemed unsure as they tossed each other concerned glances. After all, who knew what he would have in there waiting for them…or if would even be there at all? Just then…

"Come on in guys! The door's open!" Max called from beyond the closed door, catching them both off guard.

"Uh…okay, that was just spooky," Kim noted, looking over at a wide-eyed Ron, who simply nodded along with Rufus, perched on his shoulder. Still, it wasn't about to stop them from walking in the door. Inside was pretty much typical of any school office. There were books on shelves, files strewn about here and there, a desk with a few chairs around it. And behind that desk was Max, stuffing a few odds and ends into a duffel bag before he looked up to acknowledge them.

"About time…I was just about to leave," he announced with a cheerful air, walking around his desk to close the door behind them before walking over to another door, "Hope you don't mind, I've got to make a quick stop on the way."

"Uh huh. Look, I don't know what act you're trying to pull now but…that's a storage closet," Kim replied cynically. Max however, merely turned to her and smiled.

"Is it now?" he responded with a small chuckle. Opening the door to a pitch black opening, he simply waved an inviting hand to Kim and Ron to come with him. Kim couldn't help but raise a suspicious eyebrow, but decided to take a chance as she and Ron looked at each other and took each other's hand before taking a deep breath and pensively walking through the door…

"Hey guys! Guess who's here!" Max called out loudly as Kim and Ron suddenly found themselves inside the main room of an enormous house as soon as they'd walked through the doorway! There was a dining room on the left with a kitchen beyond it, a living room on the right and a hallway and a staircase right in front of them leading to bedrooms and bathrooms. Whirling around, they both looked back through the doorway they had just entered. But instead of Max's office, now all they saw was a front porch leading to a large gated front yard. Beyond that, a stream of skyscrapers poked their way out of the background, instantly betraying they're location.

"Kim," Ron whispered, "We're in GO City!"

"Yeah," was all Kim managed to get out, her voice filled with awe. Trapped in a state of complete shock, all they could do was look at each other in wide-eyed amazement. Even Rufus found himself in a daze of disbelief.

"MAAAX!!!" a collective scream instantly snapped Kim and Ron out of the moment, however, as a small herd of children came running out of every room to greet him. They were all of different ages, ranging from three and four to as old as 13 or 14. Max, meanwhile, simply smiled and laughed as he offered hugs, high fives and pats on the head. But a moment later, he felt a tug on his shirt as he turned to see one little girl with short brown hair, clutching an enormous teddy bear almost as big as her.

"Hey Elizabeth, how are you, Sweetie?" Max asked happily.

"Good," was all the girl replied with a big smile, but continuing with a whisper as Max lifted her up, "You know what?"

"What?" Max whispered back. Elizabeth simply smiled at him and giggled before answering.

"I'm getting 'dopted tomorrow." She answered, drawing out a playful gasp from Max.

"I know. You are so lucky, you know that?" he said, hugging her even tighter. Elizabeth giggled again, but then a part of her seemed a little sad.

"I'm gon' miss you, Max."

"I'm gonna miss you too kid," Max said, feeling a little unhappy himself, but still offering her a reassuring smile as he set her back down, "But you're gonna call me once a week, right?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth replied, giving a shy smile as she hid behind her teddy bear.

"That's my girl. Now you go play, okay?" Max replied, giving her a messy pat on the head before she giggled and ran off into the other room. Kim and Ron, meanwhile, could only exchange looks of amazement. So far, they'd only seen Max's wild side. A sight like this was the absolute last thing either of them was expecting.

"She's just had her head in the clouds ever since that nice couple said they'll take her. For days, she's been telling anyone who'll listen," another voice sounded as Kim and Ron turned to see a tall woman with short dark hair and brown eyes walking towards them from the dining room, "How are you doing, Max?"

"Hey," Max replied simply, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at Kim and Ron, "Just a short visit today. Got some friends here who need a little help with something."

"Oh, hi. Uh, Kim Possible…Ron Stoppable. Sorry to be showing up unannounced," Kim introduced, feeling a little caught off guard as she turned back to the doorway and still saw the front yard, "To be honest…WE didn't even know we were coming."

"Oh, there's no trouble. The name's Alice," the woman replied, "I run the group home here. Do you guys want to come in for something?"

"Go ahead, make yourselves at home. I'll try to make this quick," Max invited before turning back to the kids in the main hall with a loud clap, "Alright now! Who's got homework!"

The younger kids immediately raised their hands obediently at the question. But a few of the older kids behind them seemed a little more reluctant to do so. Max, meanwhile, simply gave a suspicious glance.

"I think some of you in the back are lying! Go get it!" he commended with a smirk, despite the disappointed groans from some of the older kids as they trudged to their rooms, "Now come on, I don't want to hear that. Some of you guys are old enough. You should be pulling your weight around here and setting an example."

"Oh that's REALLY rich, coming from YOU," Alice replied with a smirk of her own.

"Don't start," Max replied with an amusing tone, pointing his cane at her before turning back and calling to the kids, "Alright, I want all of you in the living room with your homework in five minutes, okay?!"

"Come on," Alice motioned to Kim and Ron, "You can wait here in the dining room until he's done."

* * *

"I have to say, this is a little surprising. I wasn't really expecting Max to be doing this sort of thing," Kim stated as she and Ron sat beside each other at the huge dining room table. Ron and Rufus meanwhile, were too busy enjoying the cookies and milk that Alice had laid out for them.

"Well, Max grew up here, so he comes in quite a bit to help out," Alice replied as she sat across from them with a cup of coffee, "I keep telling him it's not necessary, but…well, you know Max."

"Well…actually, we don't really," Kim noted with a little apprehension, "That's…kind of what we're trying to do. Figure some things out."

"I'm not surprised. Max has never been very open about certain things," Alice said with an understanding nod, "To be honest, he had it pretty rough when he was a child. I mean, by the time he got to me, he'd already been bounced around five group homes in seven years. And he was so shy, he never opened up to anybody, so no one wanted to adopt him. After a while, I just took him in myself. Still, I could never shake the fact that there was always something missing his life. And it wasn't something a parent could provide, it was like something…inside himself."

Kim didn't say anything as she hung on every word. Even Ron and Rufus had stopped eating to listen intently.

"He went through an incredibly awkward phase as a teenager. It was a very angry time for him because he was so insecure about himself," Alice continued, "He was always trying to cover it up with jokes and sarcastic comments and acting all rebellious. It was enough to fool some people, but he never fooled me. I could always see in his eyes what he was really going through. But then he started going out with that girl. I never did get her name…but she was always wearing green for some reason."

Kim and Ron only tossed each other a worried glance as Alice took a sip of her coffee. After all, they knew EXACTLY who she was talking about.

"Listen, don't tell him I said this," Alice leaned across the table as she whispered to them, "But I was actually VERY relieved when I heard he broke it off. To be honest, I never really cared for that girl. I thought she was a terrible influence on him. Always running around, never saying where they were going or what they were doing. I tell you, it drove me crazy. Every day, I just kept picturing him coming home in the back of a police car."

Kim and Ron didn't say a word. They simply rolled their eyes and looked away.

"Then, after he graduated from high school…he started getting this crazy idea in his head that he wanted to go to England," Alice said, the confusion in her voice indicating that still didn't know what he'd been thinking, "And at first, I flat out said no, because he was asking me to use his college savings to fund this trip. I mean, he'd never shown an interest in traveling before, he didn't where he was going or when he was coming back, I thought it was just a reckless whim. But after a month, he kept arguing with me about it, and eventually, I started to see that this was something he DESPERATELY wanted to do. So eventually, he wore me down and I ended up saying yes. But only if he wrote me at least once a week."

This was the part that Kim and Ron were listening for. Giving Alice their undivided attention, maybe now they'd learn something about Max's powers. At least something they could nail down a timeline from.

"For the first few weeks, everything was fine. He wrote, just like he said," Alice recalled, "Then suddenly, one week, no mail, two weeks, no mail, three weeks…I was just going out of my mind. I didn't have a clue what had happened to him. Then, suddenly, in the middle of the fourth week, he just appeared out of nowhere at the front door. And I was so angry at him, I wanted to let him have it so badly…but then I looked at him…and I couldn't believe it. It was like, for the first time in his life, he was happy. ACTUALLY happy. And that's when I knew, he'd finally found that missing piece he was looking for. And he's been like this ever since."

Again, Kim and Ron didn't reply. They simply offered each other thoughtful looks. Just then, Max's head peeked into the room.

"Hey, you guys want to go or do you need a few more minutes?" he called in.

"Uh…I think we're good," Kim said as she and Ron stood up, looking over at Alice, "Thanks again for the talk. It…actually kind of helped."

"Heeeey," Max looked at her with a mock look of suspicion, "What have you been telling them?"

"Oh stop," Alice replied with an amused smile, "I didn't say anything. We just talked."

"Uh huh," Max replied cynically as April walked into the kitchen and Kim and Ron headed for the front door. Picking up his duffel bag, he followed Kim and Ron to the door but stopped to point his cane at the living room.

"Okay, I'm out of here, but remember…you guys never know if I'm coming back! So you'd better make sure every bit of that homework is done, got it?!" he called into the room before turning to leave. With that, he opened the front door and he, Kim and Ron stepped out into the bright sunlight…

"Come on in," Max said as he closed the door and Kim and Ron suddenly found themselves now in the front door of a huge apartment loft! Whipping open the door and sticking their stunned heads out along with Rufus, all they saw was a long hallway leading to an elevator at the far end. Inside, a spacious kitchen with a dining room table was on their right while a large living room was to their left, complete with two reclining chairs, a love seat and a couch. A large home theater system was in the far corner with a desk and computer system by the far wall. And a set of patio doors opened up to a wide balcony looking out over the Go City skyline. Only the position of the buildings suggested that they were nearly halfway across town from the group home they had just been in!

"Okay, he has REALLY got to warn us when he is going to do that," Ron whispered to Kim, who was just beginning to solve only a FEW of Max's mysteries.

"This must be why Wade thought it was an old address. There's no way ANYONE would think he lived HERE if he's working in Middleton. That's probably why I couldn't find him on campus yesterday either." she whispered back. Max, meanwhile, was walking through the apartment past the kitchen, just as a cup of tea floated through the air into his hand.

"Haaaaaah, much better," he said after taking a sip as he continued walking, "Well, come on then. Don't be strangers. You're the ones who said you wanted answers."

Getting back to the business at hand, Kim and Ron trotted after Max. Still ahead of them, Max was already walking up a flight of stairs leading to an indoor balcony which served as a makeshift second floor.

"The truth is, you two really aren't that much different than me in some ways," he said as he continued upward, "For one thing, you both know what it feels like."

Unsure of what he meant, Kim and Ron simply looked at each other confused as they both pensively made their way up the stairs.

"What…WHAT feels like?" Kim had to ask. As they reached the head of the stairs, they found Max's bed, with a closet carved into the wall and a large end table beside it, covered with a large cloth. And in front of the table stood Max, who took another sip of tea before answering.

"Clarity," he said simply before placing his tea onto the end table, "That one single defining moment when you look inside yourself and realize with absolute certainty who you are and what you were brought into this world to do."

Instantly, Kim and Ron found themselves looking back in time. They had to admit, they did both have that moment of clarity and they knew exactly what it felt like. In Kim's case, her moment came in Jr. High, that night at the Paisley mansion when she leapt through the laser grid and disarmed it, saving her first lives. Until that moment, she knew what her abilities were, but she never really knew what her skills could really make her capable of. Until that moment, she was happy just doing odd good deeds. But after that night, she saw how far she could really go, that there really were no limits to what she could do for others. From then on, she looked outward, taking her abilities to the world and she never looked back.

For Ron, the moment came much later, but it was every bit as profound. It came to him at their graduation, the day he went to Kim's rescue and defeated Warhok and Warmonga. For Ron, it was about more than just saving the life of the woman he loved. In recent years, his growing affection for Kim had been such an inspiration for him, making him want to better himself. And when they got together, Kim became like a rock for him to lean on during moments of uncertainty, always offering him her unconditional support and becoming an even greater influence. And yet, he never managed to break through that glass ceiling to reach another level, which continued to frustrate him. But all that changed in a single moment…the moment Kim was knocked out and unable to defend herself from the two giant warriors. At that moment, Ron didn't have Kim beside him anymore. He was alone, and it was then that he finally realized the truth. For so long, he had Kim's support, Kim's faith and Kim's love, but Kim alone could only take him so far. The rest was up to HIM. It was that realization that let him look inside himself and finally trigger his Mystical Monkey Power to defeat Warhok and Warmonga on his own. Looking back, Ron could clearly remember the things that went through his mind after the battle, as he was holding Kim in his arms. It was like he felt comfortable in his own skin for the first time in his life. And at that moment, he knew it was a lesson he would never allow himself to forget.

But as Kim and Ron were reminiscing to themselves, Max was more focused on something else as he pulled back the cloth on the end table, revealing a large safe underneath. But the door to the safe had no combination dial or latch to open it. But it seemed to provide now trouble for Max, who actually reached his hand THROUGH the door and pulled out a large thick book.

"This…was mine," he continued, staring at the book intently for a long moment before handing it over to Kim, who didn't waste another moment to open it, with Ron looking over her shoulder. But instead of satisfying their curiosity, it only made them more confused as they found every page in the book blank!

"Oh, ha, ha, very funny," Kim commented sarcastically, thinking he was playing another joke, "There's nothing in here! Where are the words?!"

"Oh, there are words," Max answered plainly, "Let's just say they've been…relocated."

"Relocated…to where?" Ron asked. But Max only gave a cryptic half smile in response before raising his hand and tapping himself on the head.

"That book is an account of everything I was. Although every-ONE I was would probably be a little more accurate" he explained calmly as he sat on the edge of his bed, "See, your boy Wade found out about the Merlin/Aurelius Ambrosius connection. He was on the right track, but the truth is, Merlin wasn't an alias…"

"…He was a reincarnation…like me."

"…huh?" Kim could only stand with Ron and stare at him, their faces showing complete bewilderment.

"Well, actually, it would be more accurate to say I'm A reincarnation," Max continued, as if there was absolutely nothing unusual at all about what he was saying, "See, Aurelius was the first incarnation, Merlin was actually the third. He just became more famous, that's all."

"Wait…so you're telling us…you really ARE Merlin," Kim responded with a hint of disbelief.

"I don't like to think that way," Max replied, shaking his head as he stood back up, "I mean, if I start thinking I'm this guy or that guy, then I'm going to start losing sight of who I am. And that's REALLY not good. Especially since a couple of past lives have had the unpleasant habit of going insane. You might say I've had a history of mental illness."

"And you're a Counselor," Kim noted, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Hey, I've got an angle," Max replied with a shrug before taking another sip of his tea, "I mean, come on. Dealing with hundreds of stressed out teenagers with too much homework who are just about to set both feet into the real world for the first time? If you're gonna do what I do, it doesn't hurt to be crazy."

"You know, as disturbing as it is to say this, that actually made sense," Ron commented as Max offered him an approving nod.

"Okaaaay, still…you don't think this is all just a LITTLE far-fetched?" Kim asked cynically. Of course, Max's only reply to that came as he snapped his fingers, causing the book to float out of Kim's hands and back into his.

"As opposed to, oh say…THAT?" he argued back with a cocky smirk.

"You know he does make a good point…Yeah, yeah…" Ron and Kim murmured dryly to each other in agreement as their voices trailed off. But as she was learning more, Kim felt the need to ask more questions.

"So…that's what you found when you went to England?"

"Ah, very good. You see how it's all starting to come together now?" Max jokingly before holding up the book, "Anyway, like I said, the book is an account of everyone I used to be, all the way back to Aurelius. Think of it as computer hard drive, containing all the information from every single one of those lifetimes. When that life ends, its experiences are recorded and the book is returned to where it belongs so it can be found again next time. That's where I found it. And when I did, that information was uploaded into me."

Max paused, placing the book back inside the safe before taking another sip of tea.

"Of course, in some cases, the people who absorb the information can't handle it," he continued, "Like my SECOND incarnation, a guy by the name of Myrddin Wyllt… well, let's just say that things didn't turn out so well for him."

"Uh huh," Ron noted with a hint of concern, "I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and assume that he was one of the ones who went…"

"…CA-RAAAA-THZY!" Max followed up with a goofy yell, his swirling eyes not making Kim or Ron feel particularly comfortable before he instantly turned back to his calm demeanor, "That's probably where I would've ended up to…if it hadn't been for this."

Suddenly, Max's cane slowly shrank and reformed into a smoothed, pointed stick. Kim and Ron, meanwhile could only look on curiously.

"Okay…what IS that exactly?" Kim had to ask.

"Merlin's wand, believe it or not," Max answered, looking at it with the same intense stare as when he was holding the book, "By the time he found the book, Merlin was already a student of magic and alchemy. I guess that's what helped him adjust. I think he made sure the wand stayed with the book so that other incarnations would be able to handle the transition better. Apparently, each incarnation is born with these magical energies. As near as I can tell, certain objects like the wand can act as a lens, which focuses that energy and allows it to be used. Otherwise, the results are completely random."

"Random…like how you had all that good luck with Team Go and never got hurt!" Kim exclaimed as another piece of Max's puzzle seemed to fall into place.

"You're learning. There, see how satisfying it is to figure these things out on your own?" Max answered back with a smirk as his wand changed back into a cane. Kim, meanwhile, turned serious again as she still had more questions.

"Okay, enough with the introduction," she said, "Now why don't we skip ahead to the chapter with the lady in the heavy metal. What's the story on her?"

"Well, that's where things get a little complicated," Max replied with an apprehensive eye roll, "How much do you know about the King Arthur legends?"

"What do you mean…Like, Excalibur, Round Table, Guinevere? What?" Kim asked, confused.

"Ever heard of Morgan Le Fay?" Max asked back.

"Morgan Le Fay?" Kim thought for a moment, "Wasn't she some witch who kept trying to take over Arthur's kingdom?"

"Mm, a CRUDE summary, but that's about the gist of it." Max replied, "I'll make this quick. Morgan was Arthur's half-sister. She studied magic under quite a few teachers, Merlin included. But she was impatient, she kept wanting to fast-track things. One day, what happened was she ended up summoning forces she couldn't control. Those forces possessed her and grew into a separate entity which eventually took over her mind. Arthur and Merlin did manage to get her back, but it wasn't easy. In the end, Merlin was just BARELY able to overpower the evil that possessed her and sealed it into a wooden staff."

"That woman we ran into was holding a staff," Kim thought out loud, "You don't think the evil in that staff…"

"Oh, I don't HAVE to think," Max cut her off, confirming Kim's theory that who they were dealing with was someone who was clearly possessed, "What I can't figure out is how she got her hands on it. You see, Arthur decreed that the staff was too dangerous to be left in anyone's keeping, so he sent Merlin to the farthest edge of his kingdom to bury it in an underground chamber. He told NO ONE its location. By all rights, that staff should NEVER have been found."

Just then, as Kim and the others were trying to figure out this new development, the Kimmunicator sounded, instantly getting everyone's attention.

"Go Wade," Kim said.

"Kim, I ran a check on the face of that woman you guys ran into and I found this," Wade announced, calling up a picture on the screen of a woman with sandy blond hair tied in a bun with bright blue eyes and thick glasses, "Her name is Maria Novak. She's an archeologist who specializes in the King Arthur legends. But she disappeared about a month ago during an archeological dig in a remote part of England."

Hearing this, Kim and Ron immediately looked up at Max, who could only wince in concern.

"Okay…that would probably do it," he replied.

* * *

"CURSE HIM!!!" the possessed body of Maria Novak, now Maria Le Fay, raged on a remote rooftop as her sand creature slowly began reforming, "I can't believe how much stronger he's become, while I've been lying in a hole for centuries! As much as I hate to admit it, even WITH this body's impressive fighting skills, as I am now, I have no hope of defeating him on my own."

"Milady, if you would allow a humble suggestion," the sand giant spoke, "Would not the most prudent course of action now be to simply capture someone or something of value to him in order to ensnare him into a trap?"

"Hmmm…no," Le Fay replied somberly as she shook her head, "At this point, he's FAR too powerful for such a direct tactic to work. We need something else."

With that, Le Fay waved her arm and a sphere began to envelop herself and her creation, rendering them invisible to sight. As the sphere floated off the rooftop, Le Fay lowered down to the ground to get a better view at the changes that had taken place over the centuries. It was at that moment, that they chanced to pass an Internet café where something in the window caught her eye.

"What's this?" she murmured as she pulled out Maria Novak's thick glasses and peered in the window to see a young girl browsing through the Kim Possible website. As the site loaded, a large graphic of Kim and Ron emerged on the main page.

"It's them. The same pair from before." Le Fay thought out loud, recalling her earlier encounter with Kim and Ron. Suddenly feeling even more curious, she leaned in closer and squinted to see more.

"Kim Possible…She can do anything…" she read the title aloud. Just then, a twisted smile slowly crossed her lips as she let out a wicked chuckle.

"Is that a fact?"

* * *

"So what you're saying is, all we have to do stop this whole possession thing is just get that staff away from her?" Ron asked as Max explained the situation.

"The staff is the conduit for the possessing entity. Separate them and you sever the connection," Max replied, "But that's easier said than done. Don't forget what you've already seen her do. I know I made it look easy, but that's only because I've spent the last few lifetimes getting better than Merlin was in HIS day. And remember that creature that was with her? That was a sand golem. Now you can make golems out of just about anything, that's basic. But creating one that can actually talk and think for itself? THAT'S next level stuff. This thing that's got ahold of her, it obviously has access to all of Morgan's skills. And she WAS skilled, don't forget that."

"Not to mention some of THESE credentials," Kim noted, continuing to scan Maria Novak's file through the Kimmunicator, "Jiu Jitsu, Tae Kwan Do…she may LOOK like a skinny little bookworm, but this lady's got some real brawn to go with those brains."

"Also, don't forget that if you do separate her from the staff, you can't touch it yourself," Max added, "Not unless YOU want to end up getting possessed."

"So…are we coming up with any HELPFUL suggestions?" Ron noticed, starting to feel concerned. Even Rufus began to whimper with worry.

"Well, the one disadvantage of spiritual possession is that the door swings both ways," Max said with a shrug, "You may gain access to all the host's strengths, but you also get their weaknesses."

"Weaknesses? What kind of weaknesses?" Kim asked curiously.

"What kind have you got?" Max answered with a shrug, "Maybe the host is crippled or has an injury. Maybe they have an illness, maybe they have a phobia. It could be anything. Possessing spirits don't have the power to override things like that."

"Hmmmmm," Kim thought out loud, "Well, we already know she's blind as a bat without those glasses. But I don't think that's going to be enough. We need to find something else we can exploit."

Just then, Ron heard a pair of shrill beeps coming from his watch. Looking down, he noticed it was almost 6:00!

"Aw, man! KP, we've gotta go!" he exclaimed, "It's almost dinner! I'd better at least get home for that so my parents aren't worrying."

"Yeah, I'd better get a move on too," Kim agreed.

"So…you got some more info," Max stated with a smirk, "Feeling a little better now?"

"Well…maybe just a little," Kim had to admit with a shrug, "There's just…one more thing I've got to know…"

Kim seemed reluctant to ask at first. But she didn't really need to. Max was already flashing another smirk as he nodded his head knowingly.

"You want to know about me and Shego, don't you?"

"Well…" Kim's voice trailed off as she looked away, still uncomfortable about asking. Max, however, simply laughed in response.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just think that's very cute," he chuckled before raising his hand to one of the far bookshelves, "Oookay."

Just then, what looked like a DVD disk in a plastic cover slid out from the bookshelf and flew towards Max, who snatched it from the air. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the disk to Kim, who only looked at it perplexed.

"There's about an hour and a half of footage on that," Max explained, "It's hardly everything, but it's a pretty accurate cross-section of what our relationship was like. Have fun."

With that, Max walked over to the door, and opened it. At first, Kim and Ron thought they were leaving with him, but as they stepped to the edge of the doorway, Max simply stepped behind them.

"Try not to be surprised," he whispered over their shoulders as he shut the door behind them, forcing them through the doorway…

The next thing Kim and Ron knew, they were standing on the front steps of the Main building at Middleton Community College. Instinctively, they whirled around again, only to see the main hallway leading inside the building. Of course, by this time, both of them should have known what to expect.

"Wow. And we thought your car could get around," Ron noted as Kim let out an annoyed sigh. Then she looked over to notice the DVD disk still in her hand.

"Well…" she thought out loud…

* * *

"…we might as well see what's on this thing."

Saturday morning had arrived the next day. Kim didn't see any immediate need to watch the disk the day before, but she was up bright and early that morning and made her way to Ron's house. Since Ron's computer had been upgraded recently, they decided to play the disk in his room to opt for a little privacy. Kim was quick to pull up a second chair as Ron placed the disk inside the DVD-ROM tray and started it up. And as they waited for the disk to load, they both turned to each other with a look of uncertain anticipation, since neither of them knew what to expect from what they were about to watch.

What appeared on the screen was an anthology of what looked like video clips featuring Maximillion and Shego in high school. Aside from the fact that they both seemed a little shorter and thinner, they both looked like they hadn't really changed at all. Their hair and facial features were more or less the same. But it also showed what Max looked like fighting alongside Team Go. He had the same slicked back hair and sunglasses he'd currently worn when he was in his black suit, but when he was younger, his clothes were much different. The suit was actually white, with a Spencer mess-style jacket, and a black shirt with black gloves and shoes.

Pretty much every single clip had Max and Shego together. And while on the surface, they didn't seem to be anything more than a couple of pals hanging out, little by little, other scenes began to emerge. Scenes where they'd look like they were staring each other down, then toss each other a sly grin before sharing a quick peck on the lips. One scene had Shego jumping onto Max's back and wrapping her arms around his neck. Although quite a few of the clips were hardly as cute and cuddly. It seemed no matter how many clips there were of them being nice to each other, there seemed to be just as many clips of them fighting. And most of them always turned out the same way, with Shego ranting and raving while Max calmly dismissing her with a cocky smirk. Then Shego would try to attack him, only to be stopped by either Hego, a teacher or someone else. And Max would playfully wave to her as she was dragged away.

Still, in the clips where they DID get along, Max and Shego seemed to show a surprising amount of solid teamwork. One of the Team Go clips involved a fight with Electronique where she leaped at Max, who had only a plastic trash can lid to protect himself. Falling backwards, he curled his legs up and kicked hard, flipping Electronique overtop of him. Although Electronique managed to land on her feet, Max's diversion allowed Shego to get behind her, grabbing her hair and falling backward to drive her knees into Electronique's back! A moment later, the trash can lid that Max was holding came flying into Electronique's head, putting her down for the count. Other clips had the two of them pulling pranks or arguing with teachers. One clip in particular had them walking into a school dance and Shego using her powers for a fireworks show as they walked into the gym, instantly getting everyone's attention! It actually looked like a professional wrestler's entrance. They showed that same cocky, showboating attitude against Team Go's enemies too. Watching such moments, Kim was starting to realize how Hego had such trouble reining them in. And while they didn't seem to get along well with any of their classmates, Shego and Max always seemed to make any of the other kids around them too nervous to retaliate to anything they did.

Kim and Ron, meanwhile, seemed to go through a whole range of emotions as they watched the events unfold on screen. There was one moment when Kim had to slap her hand over her mouth and pound on the desk to keep herself from laughing, while Ron fell back in his chair from laughing so hard. Another point had Kim, Ron and Rufus wincing in shock, with Kim's hands over her ears, Ron's hands over his eyes and Rufus' paws over his mouth. And there was yet another moment when Kim and Ron felt so emotionally touched, they couldn't help but reach out and hold each other close and Rufus even sniffled a little as they watched the screen. Then, almost all too quickly, the clips were over, leaving Kim blinking and shaking her head in an attempt to get her focus back.

"Wow," she said under her breath as the program ended, "Could you believe some of that? I mean, there were a couple of times there when Shego actually looked…happy. And I didn't think Shego could even DO happy. Well, there was that whole thing with Jack Hench's Attitudinator, but that doesn't really count."

"I just couldn't get over THEM," Ron replied, looking over at her, "KP…was it just me…or were there some moments there when they…you know…seemed like a…twisted version of US?"

Kim didn't immediately reply. But as she returned Ron's gaze, it was clear from the look on her face that she was thinking the same thing he was.

"I have to admit," she noted, tossing a concerned glance at the screen for a moment, "It WAS a little creepy in parts."

"Yeah," Ron added, hanging his head slightly, "I just hope WE don't end up like…they did."

Again, Kim turned her attention back to Ron, who definitely had a worried look on his face. And Ron wasn't the type to mention something unless it actually concerned him a little, no matter how unfounded those concerns might be. Kim though, simply gave a hollow chuckle and shook her head as she smiled.

"Yeah, like THAT would ever happen," she answered before leaning in and softly kissing Ron's cheek, holding both his hands tightly and looking into his eyes with a tiny smile as he turned to face her, "Ron…I'm happy with you. I LOVE what we have. I don't EVER want to give that up."

Ron had to smile at her and Kim's smile grew wider in response as she reached up and gently slid her hand down his cheek. Rufus, meanwhile, sighed blissfully as they pressed their forehead together and another kiss seemed inevitable. But just then…

"She's got a point!"

"AAAH!" Ron cried out as he and Kim whirled around in shock to see Maximillion lying on Ron's bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Sorry," Max said, looking over apologetically once he realized his surprise visit had gone a little overboard, "Force of habit."

"Let's just get that habit BROKEN, okay?" Kim replied with an aggravated frown.

"My point is…There's absolutely no way you two are going to end up like me and Shego." Max stated and he sat up from Ron's bed, "If you need any more proof than that, it's right there."

Max paused as he lifted his cane to point in their direction. At first, Kim and Ron didn't understand his meaning, until they looked down and realized they were still holding hands, neither one willing to let go.

"You know what the main difference is between what you two have and what WE had?" Max stated with a shrug, "You two agree on one thing...you want to BE together. The truth is that despite what some of those clips might have shown you, about 75 percent of the time, Shego and I couldn't agree on the time of DAY."

"Okaaay. So…if things were so bad between you guys…why did you stay together for so long?" Kim had to ask. Max, meanwhile simply shrugged.

"Gluttons for punishment, I guess. And at the time, we didn't really have anyone else. The bottom line is, no matter how twisted it may seem, everyone has their own reasons for choosing to be with someone," he replied. Even Kim had to bob her head thoughtfully, conceding his point…

"Not me," Ron's voice suddenly chimed in, instantly getting Kim's attention as she turned to see Ron staring into her eyes with a serious gaze. She even felt Ron's hands grip hers a little tighter.

"It never WAS a choice. Kim's the only one I ever WANTED to be with," Ron continued, looking away with a shrug before turning back to Kim with a warm smile, "I guess…deep down, I always KNEW that."

"Oh, Ron…" Kim breathed as she felt every one of Ron's words touch her heart. At that moment, all she wanted to do was kiss him and hold him and never let go, no matter what. But at the last second, she found herself hesitating as she and Ron both turned around to see Max still sitting on Ron's bed.

"Yyyyeah, I'd…better get back to your parents now," Max stated, his eyes darting back and forth as he stood up to leave, "I asked them where the bathroom was so I could talk to you guys. They're going to think I got lost or something."

"You're talking to my…? Wait a minute! How long have you BEEN here?!" Ron exclaimed, with a completely bewildered look.

"Oh, I'd say we're going on about…half an hour now," Max replied simply, looking at his watch before flashing them a cheesy grin, "See ya."

And then, in a puff of smoke and glitter, Max had disappeared from the room. Kim and Ron, meanwhile, could look at each other in confusion…

* * *

"Where you goin'? Huh? Where you goin'? You think you're gettin' away from me? No you're not. No you're not." Max spoke in a playful babying tone as he picked little Hana Stoppable up over his head and started wiggling her around. As he held her up, the tiny infant simply giggled and squealed in response, waving her arms and kicking with her legs while Ron's parents looked on with amused smiles. Kim and Ron, meanwhile, had quietly inched their way down the stairs to the kitchen and were staying just out of sight as they listened intently.

"I must say, Mr. Ambro, you're certainly good with children," Mr. Stoppable noted. Max, meanwhile, simply gave a modest shrug.

"Well, it helps when you've had enough experience, as I've had," he answered before lowering Hana down and smiling at her giggling face, "You know, you really are lucky kid. I know what it's like to not have parents. But it's good that you've found a home at least. Having never had the pleasure, it always does me good to see it happen for someone else."

"Oh my, Hana has just been such a blessing for us," Mrs. Stoppable commented, being careful to leave out the part about Hana's magical ninja heritage, "And she's brought out such changes in Ron. He's taken on so much responsibility, it's really incredible."

"Of course, we can't give Hana all the credit," Mr. Stoppable added, "This whole last year has been such a huge turnaround for him, ever since he got together with Kim."

"Really?" Max replied as Mrs. Stoppable nodded in response while Kim and Ron could peer into the kitchen, wide-eyed, "How HAS that been working out, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, it's been just wonderful," Mrs. Stoppable answered, "I mean, they've known each other almost their entire lives. After a while, I have to admit, I actually started hoping that they would get together, if for no other reason than just to make Ron happy."

Kim and Ron only looked at each other in silence as Mrs. Stoppable spoke. After all, they had to admit, they really had no idea she felt so strongly about their relationship.

"I know he was much too young to understand it at the time, but I have to be honest. I think he loved Kim the moment he met her," she continued, "I still remember that day. Ron's father had just picked him up from pre-school and he came running in the door as fast as he could, shouting, 'Mommy! Mommy! Guess what! I made a really great new friend today! She's pretty and she's fun and she has freckles just like me! And…!' And he just kept going."

"It's true. He went on like that for almost 20 minutes," Mr. Stoppable added.

"Ron…," Kim uttered under her breath. Ron, meanwhile, turned to her and felt a premature sense of panic.

"Well, I mean, I was only four, right? It's not like I even rememb-mmm…!" Ron started trying to explain himself, but was cut off as Kim leaned in and softly kissed him. And as she draped her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder, looking up into his eyes, Ron couldn't help but smile back warmly as he put his arm around her and snuggled in close.

"But what I remember most from that day was the way he smiled," Mrs. Stoppable continued on, "Not once had I EVER seen him smile like that. And he kept that smile for the rest of the day. After a few years, like I say, I started hoping they would get together. But after a while, I started to wonder if it would ever happen, until the night of the Junior Prom. Ron never told me what happened when he got home, but he didn't have to. I could tell just by the look on his face…"

At that moment, Ron's mother had to take a moment to compose herself. She could feel her eyes welling up and her voice started to crack as Mr. Stoppable reached over and gently took her hand.

"He…he walked in the door that night…and he had that smile," she finally managed to get out, "That exact same smile. After a while, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see him smile like that again. But that night, when he did…it almost made me cry. He was just so happy…"

She had to cut herself off at that point, almost losing herself to emotion. It took a few moments, but she managed to paste a warm smile on her face as she forced herself to finish her thoughts through a few stray sniffles.

"After that…everything was just so much better for him. His days seemed brighter, he had a better attitude. He started doing better in school, he got a job…"

"It was like he just kept changing every day," Mr. Stoppable chimed in, "It really was amazing."

"I believe it," Maximillion replied with a gentle smile, "I totally believe it. For a thing like that to happen, it can be truly…TRULY profound. And when someone goes through something like that, it can literally change their world."

It was at that moment that Kim and Ron had overheard just about enough. Without a word, Kim tapped Ron on the shoulder and motioned her head towards the front door. Ron simply nodded in reply as the two of them sneaked past the kitchen doorway and out of the house.

* * *

Kim and Ron kept walking, hand in hand, neither one of them saying a word. While Kim was just enjoying the time she was spending with Ron, she couldn't help but think about what she had just overheard his mother talking about and it made her think about what Ron had said to Max up in his bedroom. At that moment, she knew the question she wanted to ask, but it still took a few more minutes to drum up the courage, as well as to try and not make it sound insulting.

"Uh, Ron?" she asked, swallowing hard, "You know, when we got together, I promised myself I was never going to be…you know…'this girl' with you…and I totally hope you don't take this the wrong way…but I was wondering. What you said to Max before, about only ever wanting to be with me…did you really mean that?"

Ron stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Kim's question. But the expression on his face when he looked at her was completely blank. Well, at least he didn't look mad or upset. Kim chose to take this as a good sign. But it was still a few moments longer before he finally answered.

"Well…yeah," he said with a shrug before holding Kim's hands and looking into her eyes, "Kim, ever since we met, I've spent every day wondering what I did to deserve you…I still can't come up with an answer. Okay, maybe it did take me a while to figure out how I felt. Maybe I don't know exactly WHEN it happened. But the one thing I always knew was how much I needed you in my life. Sometimes, my only reason for getting out of bed in the morning was because I knew I'd be able to see you."

Ron paused for a moment, looking into Kim's eyes. And his lips curled into a soft smile.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Kim."

Kim could only smile back as first before an affectionate sigh passed her lips.

"Right back at you," she uttered under her breath as she threw her arms around his neck and the two of them hugged each other tight. Savoring the moment as much as they could, they both smiled contentedly as they held each other, but eventually, Kim pulled away slightly, looking warmly into Ron's eyes.

"Well, for what it's worth," she started to say, "I know when it happened for ME."

"Oh yeah?" Ron responded, although he was admittedly feeling more amorous than curious.

"Yeah," Kim answered back, "You remember our first 'date'…?"

* * *

…Roughly 1 year ago…

Ron sat on the couch in his living room, a blank stare plastered across his face. The Junior Prom had only just taken place the night before. Looking back on it, it all just seemed so unreal what had happened. He and Kim had barely spoken to each other after they arrived, which made everything that happened afterward just feel like a blur. He remembered the dance and the kiss. He remembered walking her home in complete silence and holding her hand. He remembered the two of them exchanging shy smiles at each other every few minutes. He even remembered how they fidgeted on Kim's front porch as she was about to go in for the night. But again, he didn't remember actually SAYING anything. The only words he recalled being spoken were from Kim just as she was about to walk into the house.

"I'll see you later, okay?" she blurted out as she leaned in to plant a quick kiss on his cheek before ducking into the house and shutting the door.

Lost in a joyful daze, Ron didn't even remember how he got home that night or even falling asleep afterwards. But that was then, this was now and his mood had completely changed. Now the only daze he seemed to be in was a daze of confusion. For the life of him, he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do next. He spent what felt like hours pacing around his house, trying desperately to come up with some kind of a plan. But what was the best way to proceed? What was the etiquette? He just couldn't decide.

"What do you think, Rufus? Should I call her?" he thought out loud as he picked up the phone, but then set it back down, "But what if that's too informal? And what if she doesn't pick up? Wait…I could go over there. Oh, but what if that's coming on too strong? And what if she doesn't let me in?! Aw Rufus, I just don't know."

"Oh man," Rufus chattered as he slumped in disappointment. Just a few short hours ago, it seemed like Ron had gotten over his insecurity about Kim. But now, all those doubts had just come back with a vengeance.

"Alright…okay. I'll…I'll go over there," Ron tried to steady himself, appearing to have made a decision, but still stopping short at the front door, "Okay…I'm gonna do this. I'm going…now. Okaaaay…now. I'm going…I'm going…RRRRG! Alright, I'm going!"

Before he could pull back again, Ron grabbed the knob and threw the door open, ready to charge outside. But what ended up happening was the last thing he expected as he saw Kim standing on the front step of his house, trying to work up the courage to ring the doorbell.

"Kim?!"

"Ron?!"

"Uh…hi…"

"Yeah…hi…"

Neither of them seemed able to move as they stood on opposite sides of the doorway, bashfully looking away from each other. Rufus, meanwhile, had slapped his paw against his forehead in frustration. Finally, after all this time, it looked like Kim and Ron were finally heading in the right direction together. And now, after one step forward, they both appeared to have taken three steps back.

"Look," Kim murmured under her breath, struggling to collect her thoughts, "About last night…I mean, there was all that craziness…we weren't really…But…I'm not saying that it wasn't…I mean, it really WAS…It's just that you…we…Look, what I'm TRYING to say is…Oh, who am I kidding?!"

Abandoning any logic or reason, Kim lunged forward, throwing her arms around Ron's neck and burying her face into his shoulder. Ron, meanwhile, was only caught off guard for the briefest of moments before his instincts took over as well, wrapping his arms around Kim's waist and pulling her as close as he could. Rufus, meanwhile, simply wiped his brow and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. After a few short stalls, it looked like things were about to get back on track.

Neither one of them was sure how long they stayed in the doorway, holding each other. All either one of them knew at that point was they weren't about to let go until THEY wanted to. Until then, no force on earth was going to separate them. Eventually, they slowly pulled away just a little, but even then, they only seemed able to toss a few shy grins at each other.

"Uh, so…You…wanna come in?" Ron invited, trying not to sound half as nervous as he felt. Kim, meanwhile, responded with a smile and a slight nod.

"Yeah," she replied, slowly walking in as Ron closed the door behind her.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by so fast that it was almost beyond belief. In the end, Kim and Ron could only remember brief bits and pieces of everything they had done. The first few hours were spent in the living room, as they sat on the couch, surrounded by a half dozen photo albums as they recalled everything they had done together since childhood. They couldn't explain why they suddenly felt so nostalgic. Maybe they were just trying to replay their lives together to give themselves bit more perspective. But at one point, as Ron pointed towards an old photo and started laughing, Kim noticed his arm gently slide around her shoulder. Instinctively, she looked up at him, but only saw him still looking at the photos. It was like he didn't even notice he'd done it. At that moment, it all just began to feel so natural…so right. And gradually, Kim felt herself smiling warmly as she curled up and snuggled beside him before continuing their trip down memory lane.

After a while, they both felt the need to get out of the house and just go somewhere. They didn't have any particularly special destination in mind. In fact, they just ended up spending time at their usual haunts…Middleton Mall…Bueno Nacho. And yet, as the day went on, Ron found himself sensing tiny little changes in their usual routine also. At one point as they walked through the Middleton Mall, he happened look down and noticed that Kim was holding his hand. A simple gesture, something most people probably wouldn't even draw attention to. It was also something they'd already done too. And yet, Ron couldn't help but focus on it as he looked over at Kim and flashed a happy grin. Then there was lunch at Bueno Nacho. They were having just a normal conversation, Ron couldn't remember what about. But he remembered making some off the cuff remark about something Kim said…and suddenly…Kim laughed. She actually LAUGHED.

"Uh…were you just laughing?" Ron blurted out, caught off guard. Even Rufus raised an eye in surprise.

"Well…yeah. I mean, why not? It was funny." Kim added with another tiny giggle.

Kim was never typically known for laughing at Ron's jokes. An occasional grin here and there, but that was about it. For her to laugh and actually say it was funny…Ron just had to smile.

* * *

The sun was just beginning its descent towards the horizon as Kim and Ron sat together on a bench in Middleton Park. Ron had his eyes on the fountain as it sprayed its geyser of water into the air to splash back into the pool around it. Kim, however, might as well have been a million miles away. Her attention was being paid exclusively to her thoughts. Specifically, a question she wanted to ask. But was it really appropriate now? Taking another few moments to drum up the courage, Kim simply sighed as she decided to bite the bullet.

"Ron, can I ask you a question?" she asked, getting Ron's attention as he turned to her curiously, "It's just…I want to know. Whenever I went out…you know, on a date with someone…did it really bother you that much? I mean, I wasn't hurting your feelings or anything, was I?"

"What? No…I mean, come on…I was down with it…I…," Ron tried to dismiss Kim's question, but the look on her face told him that now was not the time to be sugarcoating his answers, "Well…okay, maybe it bothered me a little…Okay, sometimes it bothered me…MORE than a little."

"…oh…" Kim turned away with a guilty frown, "Ron…I…I didn't know…"

"Well…I mean, it wasn't THAT big a deal," Ron replied, not wanting to make Kim feel bad, "I mean, seriously. What was I gonna do…ask you out myself?"

"Well," Kim shrugged, giving Ron a series of shy glances as she spoke, "You…could have tried."

"Kim…let's get real," Ron wasn't sure what to say, feeling more than a little self conscious at the moment, "What did I have to offer YOU? I mean, look at you. You're INCREDIBLE. And then…look at me. What business did I have asking you out?"

"Ron, you don't know that I wouldn't have gone out with you," Kim responded, "We could have at least talked about it."

"Yeah? And then what?" Ron protested, "Kim, we were always the best friends. That was the rule, that was the line. I didn't know what would happen if I tried to cross it. I didn't know if you'd even LET me cross it. And even if we DID go out…what if I had just ended up blowing the whole thing? Either way, you'd have moved on, found some really great guy and then you wouldn't have been able to be around me anymore because there would just be this whole awkward thing and..."

Ron had to pause a moment, sighing as he tried to collect himself.

"Kim, I just…I couldn't lose you like that. I wouldn't have been able to handle it. I was better off just staying the best friend and letting you find someone who made you happy."

There was a long pause as both Kim and Ron looked away from each other, already stuck in one of Ron's predictions of awkwardness. But just as Ron was starting to despair, he felt Kim reach out and take his hand, bringing him back to her.

"I think I get it now, what you're saying. But…did you ever stop to think that maybe…YOU…make me happy?" Kim said softly, looking into his eyes with a tiny smile, "Ron, you ARE a really great guy, whether you screw up or not. Why do you think we've stayed best friends after all this time? I mean, we have fun together, we can talk about anything. Okay, maybe we didn't talk so much about this but…you make me feel good to be around you. You're a part of me, Ron."

This time, it was Kim's turn to collect her thoughts as she looked away. But a moment later, she shyly started turning back to him.

"And sometimes…the only thing I can think about…is being part of you."

"You…really?" Ron asked, feeling a little surprised as Kim nodded shyly in response, "Kim, I didn't know…"

"Well, it was never an easy thing to bring up," Kim explained with an uneasy shrug, "Because…well, you always seemed happy just being the best friend…I just never thought it was an option so I just didn't let myself think about it. Because I thought…you know, if we crossed that line and started talking about going places in our relationship that you didn't want to go, then…"

That was it. That was the moment right there as Kim and Ron looked into each others' eyes and instantly had a crystal clear understanding of their situation. All this time, they'd both been thinking the same thing, but letting their insecurities get the better of them. How much more time could they have had together if they had just…? At that moment, they both hung their heads solemnly as they both felt a surge of guilt coming over them.

"We're both really stupid, aren't we?" Ron said after a long pause.

"Well…maybe a little," Kim replied, but she managed to paste a shy smile on her face, taking Ron's hand as they both managed to lift their heads just enough to look into each others' eyes, "But…it's still not too late…if we don't want it to be."

Ron raised his head a little higher and as he looked into Kim's eyes, he finally found a profound sense of relief as he gave her a warm smile. It was at that moment that he turned away slightly to see the sun just starting to dip behind the trees of Middleton Park.

"Well, it's kind of short notice," he started to say, bashfully turning back to Kim, "But do you…want to go on a date tonight?"

"Well, it's a good idea," Kim said with a shrug before giving Ron a playful grin, "But I thought we were on a date already."

"Huh?" was all Ron managed to get out, a clear look of confusion on his face.

"What?" Kim asked, "Don't you think so?"

"Well, I mean, it's not like we did anything special," Ron shrugged, his eyes darting back and forth as he tried to think about what they had done that day to make it qualify as a dating experience, "We basically just did what we usually do and…"

"Ron…it doesn't matter what you do when you're on a date. It matters who you're with," Kim cut him off, taking Ron's hands tightly in hers. And as she got his attention back, she simply looked into his eyes with a contented smile.

"I've just had the chance to spend the whole day with you," she added, her voice lowering to a whisper, "And I don't think it can get any more perfect than that."

There was another long pause they the two of them just sat on the bench, looking at each other. It was as if they were putting all the past awkwardness behind them and slowly getting ready to move on to the next level. In the end, it was Kim who ended up taking the first step as she slid closer, leaning in and placing a slow, feathery kiss on Ron's lips. It was more of a soft peck than anything, but Kim immediately followed up with a second kiss, longer and slightly firmer than the first. By this time, Ron had started kissing her back as their second kiss instantly moved into a third, even longer one. Just like at the Junior Prom, the moment was played out in complete silence, but for some reason, it seemed so much more profound to them both than when they kissed that night. What had happened then had been more instinctive than anything else. Enjoyable, yes, but they were still just barely conscious of what they were doing. This time, they knew with absolute certainty, everything that was happening and felt every single emotion that went with it washing over them both, like warm sunlight. Finally, their lips slowly parted, but it was another few seconds before they opened their eyes and softly smiled at each other.

"Wow," Ron said with a slight chuckle, "I think I could get used to that."

"Mmmm…I think I'm already used to it," Kim replied under her breath, savoring the moment before leaning in once again. And within moments, the two of them were letting a pair of soft pecks grow into a long, deep kiss as Kim softly draped her arms around Ron's neck and Ron put his arms around her waist, pulling her close. From there, it was as though the rest of the world simply didn't exist as they stayed locked in their kiss, the sun gently setting behind them…

* * *

"Don't get me wrong, what happened at the Junior Prom was great, but we both still kind of had our heads in the clouds. I mean, I kind of thought I knew what I WANTED to happen, but I wasn't COMPLETELY sure, you know?" Kim explained as she stepped in closer to Ron, smiling affectionately, "But THAT day, when it was all over…THAT'S when I REALLY knew. And I never looked back. I couldn't…"

"…I was in love."

Kim had to pause for a moment after that, pressing her forehead against Ron's and gently holding his face in her hands before she whispered onto his lips.

"I'm still in love."

There was no more need for hesitation now as they both leaned in, sharing a soft, deep kiss. Kim continued to hold Ron's face in her hands as Ron's arms gently folded around her and it seemed like nothing on earth could possibly disturb something so perfect…

Just then, a blinding flash ignited the air, snapping Kim and Ron out of the moment as their eyes flipped open, still locked in their kiss! A second later, a familiar shriek of laughter instantly announced who was coming to call as Maria Le Fay appeared before them, floating just a few feet off the ground.

"OH, COME ON!" Ron shouted in frustration as he whipped around and glared at her, "Would it have killed you to wait thirty seconds?!"

"Hello, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable," Le Fay announced with a twisted grin, ignoring Ron's tirade, "Oh yes, I know all about you two."

"Oh, so you've come looking for US now, huh…Maria Novak? Or would you prefer your old name, Morgan Le Fey?" Kim replied with a cocky smirk, indicating that she knew a few things too.

"So you know about me, do you? You're every bit as good as your reputation, but I didn't come here for introductions," Le Fay answered back with a smirk, "You see…I have a so-called 'mission' for you."

"Oh, this is very cute," Kim noted as she and Ron shared an amused smile, "And you think we're just going to up and help YOU?"

"Well, not by choice," Le Fay replied with a wicked grin before flashing her hand in Ron's direction.

"Hey…Whoa!" Ron blurted out as his body was instantly enveloped in a sphere of light. And with a flick of Le Fay's wrist, he found himself floating up into the sky!

"RON!" Kim shouted as she leaped forward to attack Le Fay! But just then, a pillar of sand burst from the ground, coiling around Kim's body like a snake and making it impossible for her to move!

"Oh, now we can't have that," Le Fay's sand golem spoke as its head formed right beside Kim's.

"KIM!" Ron cried out, unable to help her. Le Fay, meanwhile, simply strolled over to Kim with a serious frown.

"Let's make this short and sweet," she demanded, "Merlin's new incarnation, you know who he is. I want him…you're going to get him. It's that simple."

"Simple, huh? Lady, if you can't beat him, what makes you think that I'll do any better?" Kim groaned as she struggled in vain against the golem coiled around her. Le Fay, however, simply looked into her eyes and let out a wicked chuckle.

"Oh, but you already KNOW how to beat him," she replied as she pressed her finger to Kim's forehead. Instantly, Kim's memories triggered back to Maximillion's apartment when he showed her and Ron his wand…

…"As near as I can tell, certain objects like the wand can act as a lens, which focuses that energy and allows it to be used. Otherwise, the results are completely random."…

"Use THIS to contact me when you get him and I'LL deal with the rest," Le Fay continued, placing what looked to be a signal flare into Kim's hand, "The wisp contained inside will find me when it's done. Until then, your 'special friend' will be my guest. This spell has already proven effective in containing his magic. He's not going anywhere. What happens to him from this point on…well, that depends on YOU."

Sufficiently satisfied that she had made her point, Le Fay moved in closer, glaring into Kim's defiant frown to prove just how serious she was.

"You have 24 hours," she hissed threateningly, "DON'T keep me waiting."

With that, another blinding flash followed and Kim found herself instantly dropped to the hard sidewalk. Flipping to her feet, she looked around frantically only to find that Le Fay, the golem and Ron had all disappeared. Kim felt lost in the panic of the moment, but suddenly a quick glitter of light caught her eye as she looked down to see the necklace that Ron had given her at Global Justice headquarters just a couple weeks earlier dangling from her neck. The same necklace with a half heart pendant, one of the pair that Ron had the other half to. It must have flipped out of her shirt in all the commotion. Staring down at it, he focus instantly came back as she looked at where Le Fay had just been standing and glared in rage.

"Okay, I WAS just going to let Max deal with you on his own, but FORGET that!" she spoke through gritted teeth as she squeezed her pendant hard. She could feel it almost cutting into her hand, but at that moment, she was far beyond caring.

"As of right now…you just got my UN-DIVIDED attention!"

TO BE CONTINUED…


	3. Chapter 3

Kim Possible: The More Things Change…  
Part 3  
By Aaron

…Two months earlier…

"This is it…this is really it!"

Maria Novak couldn't help but be excited. Her dream was about to become a reality. Ever since she was a little girl, she'd been fascinated by the King Arthur legends. In truth, it was the pursuit of legends that led to her study of archeology. Of course, as she soon began to realize, some legends were truer than others and over time, her obsession with Arthur, Merlin and the Knights if the Round Table began to be seen by some of her peers as nothing more than a mindless indulgence. Eventually, she began to wonder if they were right. But as she stood in the deep hole and stared at the symbol carved into the wooden plank at her feet, she actually felt her body tremble. It felt as though she had really stepped into one of the many books she'd read as a child.

"It's the symbol of Arthur Pendragon!" she yelled out excitedly.

"Amazing!" one of her assistants, an older, pudgy man named Albert with gray, balding hair and a bushy mustache exclaimed, "I've heard of such symbols, but to actually be able to see one in my own lifetime. I never dreamed it would be possible."

"Congratulations, Maria. This is a MAJOR find," added Isaac, the second assistant who was a tall, fairly built man about Maria's age. Maria, meanwhile, wasn't about to let her excitement keep her from planning her next move. Kneeling down, she brushed a few more wisps of dirt from the wood before leaning her head against it and gently rapping on it with her first.

"It sounds almost…hollow. This could actually be a structure of some kind," she thought out loud in even further amazement, "Get the others. Get everyone! We need to cordon off the site and find out just how deep this really goes!"

It took weeks of tests and painstaking digging by hand after that. Maria didn't dare authorize the use of heavy equipment for fear of damaging her find. But every day, more and more of the structure became visible. And at the end of each day, Maria would go back to camp too excited to sleep, wanting to just keep going until the work was done. She had just never felt so energized in her entire life.

"You know, Maria, you really should stop staring at that the rubbing of that symbol and try to get some sleep," Isaac cautioned one particular night, "You're the head of this dig and we don't need a zombie running the show."

"I know, I know, but I'm just so fired up. We've never been this close before and…what was that?" Maria started to say before a tiny squeal caught her attention. Suddenly, as she stared down beside the fire, her eyes went as wide as dinner plates as frightened murmurs passed her lips.

"!!!!"

Immediately, the whole camp rushed out at Maria's almost sonic pitched scream! But when they got outside, all they found was Isaac issuing them some calming waves while Maria was clutching his ankle in terror!

"Sorry folks! False alarm, nothing to see here!" he announced, waiting until the crowd had dissipated before kneeling down to whisper at her, "What was THAT about?"

"I'm…I'm sorry," Maria whined slightly as she tried to regain her composure, "It was just, that…that THING."

"What?" Isaac almost laughed out loud in response, "Maria…it was a field mouse. That's nothing unusual. They're all over these foothills."

"Oh…don't remind me," Maria shuddered as her body tensed up.

"What, are you kidding," Isaac replied, "Maria, it's the size of a ping pong ball. It can't possibly hurt you."

"I know…I know," Maria responded, still visibly shaken, "It's just, me and rodents…we just don't…I mean, the teeth, the beady little eyes, those little clawed feet…It just FREAKS me right out, okay? Every time I see one, I just…totally…LOSE it!"

"There, there, it's okay now," Isaac spoke in a babying voice as he put his arm around her shoulder, "You're safe. The nasty little ball of fur isn't going to hurt you anymore."

"You're really enjoying this aren't you?" Maria stated, flashing a dirty look. Isaac, meanwhile, kept his arm around her as he rolled his eyes back and forth, trying not to look so amused.

"Maybe a little."

* * *

The dig seemed to take forever, but eventually, Maria and her team managed to uncover the entire structure. However, their efforts hadn't yielded the kind of rewards they'd been hoping for. Because, as they stood before their great find, it looked almost like just a big wooden box.

"I don't get it," Isaac announced, "I mean…a one-room structure buried in the middle of nowhere…with no entrance? Is this making sense to ANYONE here?"

"I hate to say it, Maria, but he's got a point," Albert agreed as Maria stood staring at the wooden cube with a thoughtful frown, "I mean, if we're going to justify the cost of continuing with this dig, we have to show the bean counters a lot more than just an oversized packing crate."

"No, I'm not throwing in the towel yet. Not after spending almost a month digging this thing up," Maria thought out loud as she walked over to the structure, "There's GOT to be something we're missing."

Maria continued staring intently as she gingerly brushed her hand along the one of the wooden planks. Suddenly, some of the moist soil that had dried from days of exposure fell away, revealing something that instantly caught her eye.

"Wait a minute…" she noted curiously as she squinted, adjusting her thick glasses, "I think…there's some kind of writing here."

Without a pause, Maria grabbed a brush and began gently scraping away at more of the surface. And sure enough, as the dried dirt fell away, there did indeed seem to be some form of writing carved into the wood.

"This might be a clue," she stated, turning to the other two before continuing her work, "Check the other walls for signs of these kinds of symbols. We just might be on to something yet."

It took a few more days of gentle work, but eventually, all four walls of the structure were exposed. And upon closer examination, all four walls appeared to have the same lines of text written on them, each line written with different characters. As her two assistants huddled around a laptop at the edge of the structure, Maria stood on the roof, still closely examining the symbol she'd first discovered. She kept going over it again and again, trying to make sure she hadn't made some kind of a mistake. But she hadn't. It really WAS the symbol of Arthur Pendragon. And yet, when all was said and done, in the end, it still looked like just a big box. In retrospect, Maria had to admit that she was more than a little underwhelmed by her findings so far. But still, she had never been so close to actually finding proof of Arthur's existence…there HAD to be more than what she was seeing.

"Well, there IS a little bit of degradation, but nothing the computer shouldn't be able to fill in the blanks on," Isaac commented as the laptop scanned over the symbols in the wood, "Still, if this thing is as old as we THINK it is, these carvings have held up remarkably well."

"They've held up IMPOSSIBLY well," Albert noted suspiciously, "EVERYTHING here has. I mean, think about it. A wooden room buried in the ground for HOW long? There's absolutely no logical reason for it to still be here. By all rights, this whole structure should have rotted into splinters centuries ago."

Before Isaac could respond, a series of blips sounded over the computer, indicating that the program had finished its run. Turning their attention back to the matter at hand, the pair stared intently at the characters appearing on the screen.

"Hey Maria, the program's done!" Isaac called up.

"Great! Need me to come down?" Maria replied, still standing on top of the structure.

"Nah, we're good! Besides, our resident translator is here anyway!" Isaac answered back, turning to his older counterpart, "So…what do you think?"

"Hmmmm," Albert thought out loud, staring intently at the laptop screen as the two switched places, "It looks like about five different languages here…Ancient Welsh, Irish, a couple different writing styles from Scottish tribesmen…even Latin."

"So…what do they mean?" Isaac asked.

"Well…as near as I can tell, they all appear to be saying the exact same thing. But to write down a single phrase in so many different forms…it's as if whoever buried this here WANTED to make sure that anyone who found this would be able to understand. So let's see…'what lies…within'…" Albert muttered to himself as his voice trailed off to silent murmurs. But suddenly, his eyes grew wide as he leaned back from the screen, a concerned look crossing his face. Something Isaac was quick to notice.

"What?" he asked, growing even more concerned, "What is it?"

"'What lies within these walls…'" Albert read on before turning to Isaac and continuing, "'…must never see the light of day again.'"

Upon hearing the translation, Maria could only toss a surprised look down to her assistants below. But before any of them had time to wonder about the phrase's cryptic meaning, they were interrupted by a large crunch before Maria suddenly disappeared! Weeks of digging and walking upon its surface had taken its toll on the already weakened roof and Maria could only scream as she plummeted into the dark chamber below.

"MARIA!" Isaac cried out as the two raced to the structure and climbed the ladder to peer into the rotted hole, "Maria, are you alright?!"

"Unh…I think so," Maria groaned as she struggled to sit up, "Nothing broken anyway, but…I can't move my leg. It must be caught under a rock or a timber or something…I don't know, it's too dark."

"Just hang on! I'll get back to the site to get a few of the others and some rope!" Isaac called down as he rushed down the ladder to get back to camp. Meanwhile, Albert stayed behind to make sure that everything was alright.

"Maria, are you sure you're okay?" he called down. Maria, meanwhile, had managed to find her glasses and was looking around the darkened room to see what she could see. But from what the limited light could tell her shining in from the gaping hole, it appeared to be nothing more than an empty chamber. There was nothing inside that appeared even remotely threatening. But…if that was the case…why were those words of warning carved on the door? Just then, a slight shimmer caught her eye reflecting off the sunlight beaming in…

"Hey, it looks almost like a pole of some kind!" she called up to Albert, groaning as she stretched out towards it, "If I can…just…reach it…I…should…be able to pry myself…there!"

But as soon as Maria's hand grabbed the wooden pole, a dim glow passed over her eyes, which suddenly began to glaze. And she suddenly grew silent as a twisted smile began to appear on her lips.

"Maria!" Albert called down, catching her attention as her eyes darted up to glare at him, "Maria, talk to me! Are you okay?"

Unfortunately, the only answer Albert received was a blinding white flash! Back at camp, Isaac and the rest of the team gasped in shock as an enormous pillar of light erupted from the ground, exactly in the direction of the dig site! Without wasting a moment, they all raced back as fast as they could, but as they broke through the tree line, all Isaac and the others found was Albert lying face down in the grass at the base of the dig, groaning.

"Hey!" Isaac called out as he ran up, rolling Albert over and checking on him, "Are you alright?! What happened?!"

"I'm…I'm not really sure," Albert replied in a daze as he pointed towards the dig, "I mean…literally one second I was there…the next I'm lying here."

Leaving one of the men to care for Albert, Isaac ran over to look into the dig site, but all he saw was a massive crater where the wooden structure had been! The structure itself, however, was virtually non-existent, blown into thousands of splinters! And on top of that, Maria was gone! Vanished without a trace!

"Maria! MARIA!!" Isaac called out, desperately hoping to any reply. However, the only response he got was a whisper on the wind. A whisper that sounded almost like…Maria laughing…

* * *

Now…

"Excuse me! Hellooooooo!" the newly christened Maria Le Fay was broken out of her train of thought as Ron called out to her, still trapped in her floating spherical barrier, "Listen, would you mind…I mean, do you think that maybe you could make this thing just a little bit bigger? 'Cause I mean, I've DONE the whole hamster ball thing before and I've gotta tell ya, it does get a little claustrophobic, so if it's not too much trouble…"

But before Ron could finish, Le Fay whirled around, hissing at him as the tip of her staff grew into a long snake which lunged at him! Rufus managed to poke his head out to see what all the commotion was about, but as the snake's head passed harmlessly through the barrier towards Ron, he yelped in fright and immediately dove back into Ron's pocket without being noticed. Ron, however, stood his ground with a defensive stance, flashing a stern look before the snake's head stopped short just a few centimeters away before whipping back to Le Fay and reforming into her staff. At that point, all Le Fay could do was flash an amused smirk. After all, she knew there was no point in fighting him. As long as that barrier stayed up, Ron Stoppable was absolutely no threat to her.

"Hmph! In my day, a parlor trick like that would have thrown an entire village into a panic," she noted before turning her back to him again, "I have to admit, if nothing else, the men and women of this new world are certainly made of more grit."

"Yeah, uh huh…and the super villains of this world…can certainly spring for better digs," Ron replied dryly, crossing his arms as he looked around the cave in England where Le Fay had been hiding out since possessing Maria Novak's body, "Just where ARE we anyway?"

"That's hardly something you need to know," Le Fay replied with a scowl, "Just know that until Kim Possible has performed the little task I've assigned for her, this is where you'll be staying, so you might as well get used to it."

"Riiiiiight," Ron said, rolling his eyes before tossing Le Fay a defiant frown, "And you think she's just going to do what you told her to do…why?"

At this point, Le Fay was quickly growing tired of Ron's insolent attitude. And her eyes began to glow as she stormed over and glared at him through the barrier. He may not have looked very impressed at the moment, but if Kim didn't follow through on her orders, Le Fay was going to be more than happy to change that.

"For your sake, boy," she hissed through gritted teeth, "You'd BETTER hope she DOES."

* * *

"MAX!" Kim cried out as she burst through the front door of Ron's house and ran straight to the kitchen, "Max! Is he still here?! Where did he go?!"

"You mean that nice Mr. Ambro? He left just a few minutes ago," Mrs. Stoppable replied, clearing the table as Mr. Stoppable remained seated, holding a giggling Hana, "I think he said something about needing to talk to an old girlfriend."

"Shego," Kim uttered under her breath as she turned back to the door, "I've gotta run!"

"Kim, is everything alright? Where's Ronald?" Mr. Stoppable asked, a little unsure of what was going on. Even Hana's baby gurgling seemed to show a hint of concern.

"What? Ron? Oh, he's…he's fine. He's just fine. Yeah, I'm just gonna…go…get him right now…Yeah, that's…that's just what I'm gonna…Bye!" Kim yammered nervously, her eyes darting back and forth as she slowly backed to the front door. A second later, she was out, slamming the door behind her as she went straight to the Kimmunicator.

"Wade, find Drakken…Now!"

* * *

Shego was sitting in the middle of a coffee shop. It was one of the few she had grown to feel comfortable in over the years as this particular establishment dealt to clients of a far less reputable sort. But it was hardly the kind of dive that most criminals would be known to hang out in. Camille Leon, the Seniors…even Professor Dementor was known to stop by in for a latte every now and then. But Shego was far too preoccupied to take in the uptown atmosphere.

She hadn't even taken a sip of her coffee as she sat with her head on the table, her eyes glaring into space. She'd been wandering around in a foaming frenzy ever since she woke up yesterday. Ever since Maximillion Ambro…! Just thinking about his smug, superior grin made Shego feel like smashing something. But she'd already done enough smashing at Drakken's place. Besides, she already knew it wouldn't make her feel any better. After all, she knew EXACTLY what it REALLY was she wanted to smash. But the thought that it just didn't seem like it would ever happen only made Shego angrier as she looked around the shop. Actually, the more she thought about it, the more this shop looked a lot like that one two years ago. The one HE walked into…

* * *

…Roughly two years earlier…

Shego was sitting in a coffee shop, taking a brief moment to relax. Dressed in some civilian clothes instead of her usual body suit, no one would have even given her a second look in a place like this, which was exactly what she was going for. After all, being an internationally wanted criminal tends to make one a little reluctant to attract any unnecessary attention. Shego may have gotten into the whole super-villainy game because she found it more appealing, but no one can commit to anything 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And every once in a while, Shego found herself craving a much needed break, even if it was only for five or 10 minutes at a time.

Pausing to savor the taste of her cappuccino blend, Shego let out a contented sigh. Between taking in the décor, listening to the gentle music and catching the odd phrase of what was actual intelligent conversation, she slowly found herself beginning to feel human again. It was one of those moments when she could just let herself be frozen in the moment and let the rest of the world pass her by. And Shego was more than happy to simply close her eyes and lean back in her chair, ignoring the bell that indicated someone was walking in the door. But her peaceful calm was about to be shattered as five simple words echoed in her ears.

"Got any Earl Grey? Perfeeeect."

Instantly, Shego's eyes snapped open. It wasn't the words that caught her attention NEARLY as much as the voice. There was no mistaking THAT voice! Her bottom lip trembled as she looked over towards the counter with a wide-eyed glare to see a tall thin man standing at the counter with his back to her. He was definitely taller than before and he had a black cane in his hand. Still, she was absolutely positive. It wasn't until he turned around, leaning back on the counter as he waited for his drink that the man's face came into her view. And Shego's eyes went even wider as she whirled her head back around to her table, her whole body trembling in a white hot rage.

It WAS him!!!

Trying to calm herself down, she rose slowly from her chair so as to not draw any attention and slowly made her way to the ladies' bathroom, clenching and unclenching her fists as she walked. Fortunately, he didn't seem to have noticed her yet. Once she reached the bathroom, however, she quickly dove inside. An instant later, anyone who would have bothered to look would have noticed a distinct green flash from beyond the door.

Maximillion Ambro, meanwhile, patiently waited for his drink as he looked around the room with a calm grin. Suddenly, the tap of a coffee platter indicated his wait was over as he turned to the young manager gratefully.

"Hey, thanks," he said in an appreciative tone. Suddenly, the manager ducked under the counter, which was soon followed by the clattering of dishes behind him and frightened gasps and murmurs as people tried to sneak their way out of the shop as quickly as possible. And a moment later…

"MaaaAAAAAX!"

"Oh my, that voice sounds familiar!" Max announced playfully before turning around to see Shego standing right in front of him with a flashing hand pointed just centimeters from his face, ready to blow his head clean through the wall if he so much as twitched. But as if he wasn't surprised to see her at all, his face merely turned out a lighthearted smirk as he calmly took a sip of his tea.

"You bellowed?" he said smugly, placing his cup back down onto his plate, "How's it going, Shego?"

"Five…years?!" Shego snarled through gritted teeth as her entire body tensed up, "Five years…and that's ALL you have to say to me?!"

"Well, what were you expecting?" Max asked, his eyes darting back and forth in mock-thoughtfulness, "Jumping up and down? Squealing your name? 'Long time, no see'? I don't recall you going in for being cliché."

"Do you have…ANY idea…the things I swore I would do to you if I ever saw you again?!" Shego shuddered in rage, every molecule in her body screaming at her to just blow him away and get it over with, "And THIS time, my brother isn't around for you to hide behind!"

"Awww, someone's cranky," Max responded sarcastically, showing no concern for his situation whatsoever, "You haven't had your nap-nap today."

"YOU BROKE UP WITH ME ON AN ANSWERING MACHINE, YOU JERK!!!" Shego yelled at the top of her lungs! She had had about all she was going to stand and was ready to end it right then and there! But at that moment, she just happened to blink.

That was all it took. One blink…and suddenly, Max had completely disappeared from view. Whipping her head back and forth, she saw him already a good three feet away from her, walking off calmly!

"Right. Like it's MY fault you were too busy pillaging and looting to pick up your phone," Max stated as he continued walking, slapping some money onto the counter for his tea, "Thanks. Keep the change."

Shego was still too lost in her own anger to wonder how Max managed to avoid her like he did. She only glared at him more furiously as her hands flashed even brighter.

"You swaggering little…" she muttered to herself before she charged at him, her voice raising back to a full on yell, "YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED A BIT!!!"

Shego's strike was right on target, but to her surprise, her hand slashed at nothing but air! Once again Max had completely vanished! Instinctively looking around again, she finally saw him already sitting at one of the tables, still wearing that same grin. Shego, meanwhile, could only scowl in aggravation.

"On the contrary, I've changed A LOT. I just don't advertise it. YOU'RE the one who's acting like she's still in high school," Max replied, only making Shego angrier as he took another sip of his tea, following with an amused chuckle, "I mean seriously, what did you THINK was going to happen? You'd run off, plunder the world until you got bored, then come home every once in a while to find me waiting at the door like a good little puppy? Were you really THAT deluded? Come on Shego, use your head. This is ME you're talking to. You should have known better than that."

Slowly, tiny fragments of logic were beginning to piece themselves together inside Shego's brain, despite her boiling anger. How was he doing this? This was TWICE now that he'd avoided her without her even seeing it. And as she looked back at him, it was clear by the look on his face that this was NOT the same Maximillion she knew back in high school. This was no awkward young man trying to cover up his insecurities with jokes and sarcasm. There was GENUINE confidence in his eyes now, in the way he carried himself. But…what changed? Had he REALLY gotten that good in just five short years? Whatever the answer was, this disappearing act of his was already starting to get old as Shego's fury began to take over again. She had to find a way to clip his wings and get him to a level she could deal with.

"Besides," Max continued, "You can't STILL be hot about this after five years. My understanding was you'd moved on already. I mean, what about that blue guy you're always running around with now?"

"Dr. Drakken? How do you…? He is NOT my boyfriend!" Shego didn't know whether to be amused or insulted as she finally made her move, firing two full force plasma blasts right where Max was sitting! This HAD to do the trick. Trying to run through that labyrinth of tables would have given Max more than enough time to pull his little vanishing stunt. This was MUCH faster. Sitting down, there was NO WAY he could avoid THIS!

The blasts tore through the table and chairs like they were made of cardboard and exploded into the far wall across the room! But to Shego's shock, Max was no longer where he was sitting! Just then, she felt someone standing between her and the counter. Was it him?! Impossible! The only time she'd lost sight of him was during the initial flash when she fired her blasts! But THAT would have meant he got up from his chair, ran through the tables and got behind her in a fraction of a second! And NOONE could be THAT fast!

"Oh really?" Max responded, looking over his shoulder with a smirk as he and Shego stood back to back, "'Karaoke Night'?"

"How did you know that?!" Shego gasped as she whirled around, but all she saw was the pastry rack behind the counter! As her body trembled, her anxiety was clearly becoming apparent. Her seething anger was being mixed with a blinding confusion. Just then, she heard a sipping noise behind her followed by the soft tap of a cup onto a coffee plate that made her eye twitch. Had he gotten behind her again? And was he still drinking his…? What was going on here?! Shego wanted nothing more than to tear him apart, but it was like she was fighting a ghost, literally appearing and disappearing on the wind. She tried desperately to figure out what to do next, but then suddenly, Max leaned over and whispered in her ear, making her bottom lip tremble…

"I pay attention."

"RrrrrrrrrrraaAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Shego cried out in rage, whipping around to strike only to send her plasma charged hand smashing through a table! Max, meanwhile, was sitting calmly at a new table in the middle of the shop, still sipping his tea. Feeling like her body was going to tear itself apart from all the tension she was feeling, Shego could only glare at him in a wild-eyed frenzy!

"Alright…enough is enough," she growled, her hands blazing more furiously, the madder she got, "So what's it gonna be? Are you gonna keep fluttering around like a chicken or are you actually gonna throw down here? Well? Are we gonna do this thing…OR WHAT?!"

With that, Max flashed a wide eyed look of interest before standing up from his chair. As his cane tapped the floor, small white flames formed around his hands and feet, then began slowly burning up his body, much to Shego's bewilderment. It was as if they were shedding away his skin and clothes, revealing another form underneath. Within moments, his civilian look had burned away completely, and Maximillion stood before Shego again. But this time, he was dressed all in black, with fingerless gloves and sunglasses. His hair was slicked back high and his jacket looked like tuxedo tails modified long and wide in the back like a trench coat. A white shirt with wide sleeves folded back over the sleeves of his jacket completed the look. But there was no doubt, it was still him. That irritating smirk was still a dead giveaway.

"To be honest, I WAS hoping it wouldn't come to this," Max said with a sigh, twirling his cane before snapping it over his shoulder, "But…if that's the way you want it…"

Shego stood her ground, her anger returning as she glared at him. She wasn't about to let a few parlor tricks keep her out of THIS fight! Something Max noticed right away as he lifted his hand up to her with a "come on" wave.

"…May I have this dance?"

That was all Shego needed to hear as she charged towards Max with a roar of fury! Max, meanwhile, maintained his calmness as he simply stood smiling, waiting for her attack.

* * *

How long had the fight been going on? Shego wasn't sure. It all just felt like a blur. All she could feel at that moment was the aching in her arms and legs and the sweat pouring down her body as she fell to her hands and knees, coughing and gasping for breath. The once trendy coffee shop had now been reduced to a gaping hole of splintered wood and shattered glass. And Shego herself was completely exhausted. No…she'd passed exhausted about five turns back. As she gulped and panted, desperately forcing air into her lungs, she felt like she was going to throw up from pushing herself so hard.

And in the middle of all the devastation, sitting right in front of her on a mostly intact table with his legs crossed, was Max. Shego, meanwhile was so winded, she couldn't even glare at him. All she managed to get out was an indignant sneer. As if it wasn't bad enough that he was still fresh as a daisy while she was out on her feet. But there wasn't even a mark on him!!! Shego didn't have a scratch either, but that just made things worse. He hadn't even TRIED to hit her throughout that entire fight! Meanwhile, Shego had been throwing everything she had at him…and even a few things she DIDN'T…and she couldn't even lay a finger on him! And on top of all that, as he looked down at her on the floor, he was still smiling that same wretched smile!!!

Just then, a pair of shrill beeps sounded from Max's wrist. Looking down, he raised his sunglasses to get a better look and found himself sighing.

"Aw man, would you look at the time," he groaned before turning his attention back to Shego with a whisper, "I've gotta go,"

Hopping off the table, Max turned on his feet and calmly walked to the door. Shego, meanwhile, could only reach for him in a futile attempt to grab his coattails, which swirled behind him like a cape. But it was no use…her body was in a far too exhausted state to listen to her brain's commands. Max, meanwhile, continued to walk away from her, but he stopped short at the doorway as he turned back into the store. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the entire room filled with a blinding flash of light and suddenly, the entire shop stood just as it had been before the fight! There was no indication that even a single creamer had been spilled that morning!

"My apologies, kind innkeeper! I believe this should cover the damages!" he called over to the shop's owner, who was still underneath the counter, huddled in a corner in fear. Then he turned his attention to Shego, who was still on the floor, completely drained.

"And Shego…try to be in a better mood next time. It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to talk to you when you're like this!" he scolded before flashing a cheesy grin and turning back to the doorway, "See ya."

As Max walked out the door, his body almost looked to be turning to vapor, blowing away in the wind. Shego, meanwhile, could only scowl in rage as she continued struggling to get back to her feet…

* * *

Even now, thinking about that day was enough to make Shego want to start knocking heads around. Never in her entire life had she EVER felt so humiliated. The fact that she couldn't even touch him and he hadn't even TRIED to…! She could feel her fingers digging into her palms and she clenched her fists under the table, using every ounce of willpower she had to keep from just letting loose and blasting the entire coffee shop to atoms.

"You know, if you're trying to calm down, coffee is really one of the last things in the world you should be drinking," the voice cut into her brain like a white hot knife as Shego's eyes went wide. Her whole body went stiff as she knew it could only be one person. And sure enough, who should be standing behind her but Maximillion, dressed in the same hair and black outfit he wore when he'd fought her, grinning happily as if there wasn't a problem in the world. Shego, meanwhile, could only breathe through her nose in shuddering gasps as her jaw trembled.

"You REALLY want to leave now," she tried to speak as calmly as she could. Max, meanwhile, simply gave a hollow chuckle as he walked around to the other side of the table, setting down a cup of tea.

"Can't do that, Shego," he replied simply as he flopped back on one chair while putting his feet up on the seat of another chair right next to it.

"TRY!!!" Shego yelled, nearly knocking her chair back as she shot up and glared at him, her hands looking like they were about to burn right through the table. Max, however, simply looked around the room at all the other people who were now looking at them before sitting back up and leaning on his elbows across the table towards her.

"Shego…let me give you some advice," he stated quietly, lowering his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose and looking up at her with serious eyes, "You don't want to play the 'Tough' Card when you're already 0 for 2. What you WANT to do…is sit down…and actually LISTEN for once in your life."

Shego could only stand there and scowl for the longest time before she slowly managed to drum up enough composure to sit back down. Sufficiently satisfied that the situation was under control, at least for now, Maximillion simply smiled. Shego, meanwhile, leaned on her elbows across the table herself, staring into his eyes with pure contempt.

* * *

All was quiet, except for the tiny scraping of a small broom as Dr. Drakken seemed to finally be getting the last of his lair cleaned up. Whoever that strange man was who dropped Shego on Drakken's couch the previous night, he had certainly called it. As soon as Shego had woken up the next day, she just became completely unhinged! Fortunately, Drakken was smart enough to lock the back room door, so at least his hedge sculptures were safe. But that didn't mean he liked what he saw when he finally worked up the courage step back out into the main hall.

He'd been cleaning ever since. Whole garbage bags filled with broken machinery and rubble were already piled outside the front door. But as he swept the last few bits of debris into a dustpan held by one of his mutant vines, he finally began to see light at the end of the tunnel. Suddenly, an explosion ripped through his ceiling, creating a hail of rock and dust! Drakken was completely caught off guard by the blast, but was even more surprised by the flash of flaming red hair dropping in through the haze.

"Kim Possible?!" he blurted out in shock. At that moment, the mutant vines growing out of Drakken immediately stood straight and tall, as if throwing up their hands in surrender.

"Now cut that out!" Drakken yelled at his plant-like limbs before storming across the room towards Kim, "Do you mind?! I had JUST finished sweeping there! Haven't you ever heard of a front door?!"

But Kim was in no mood for Drakken's unique brand of super villain slapstick. Grabbing him by his coat, she whirled around and slammed him into the wall hard, glaring into his eyes.

"Where's…Shego?"

"How should I know?! You think she tells ME anything?!" Drakken argued, still feeling like HE was the victim in this scenario as he sighed in frustration, "I ask you, where's the trust? You spend so many years working together to build an evil empire of destruction. Is a little open communication REALLY so much to ask?"

"Wade, Shego's not here," Kim stated into the Kimmunicator, already ignoring Drakken's problems.

"Oh, come on!" Drakken hollered, "You blow a hole in my lair after I finally got it all clean! The LEAST you could do is hear me out!"

"If you were looking for Shego, why didn't you say so?" Wade responded, "I could have just run a scan on the energy signature her powers generate. She always leaves a residual energy trail."

"Wade, Girlfriend-Panic Syndrome setting in, okay? Cut me some slack!" Kim replied angrily. Wade, meanwhile, continued scanning for any energy Shego's powers may have left behind in an effort to track her.

"Got her!" Wade announced triumphantly as a map appeared on the Kimmunicator screen, a single blip indicating exactly where Shego was.

* * *

"Oh, get over yourself!" Max almost laughed as he put his feet back up in the chair beside him, "You think I'm throwing my lot in with Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable just to spite YOU? Honestly, I don't know how you get through doorways with that swelled head of yours. It never occurred to you that there might be something ELSE I see in them that might make me want to offer my humble assistance?"

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Shego argued with a huff. Upon hearing those words, Max's attitude suddenly changed. Leaning across the table, he took off his sunglasses and stared at her intently, making completely certain that she saw the absolute conviction in his eyes.

"Because they inspired me," he said straight out, without a trace of humor in his voice, "When I found out who I was and what I could do…"

"Oh please, you don't SERIOUSLY expect me to believe that 'Merlin' nonsense you were spouting off before, do you?" Shego cut him off.

"I don't care WHAT you 'believe'. I KNOW it," Max replied, moving right along, "Anyway, when I got back, the question then was what to do next. After all, I couldn't just sit on the sidelines anymore, but I couldn't do SO much that people would start getting dependent on me. For years, I couldn't come up with an answer…until you introduced me to those two. They GET it, Shego. Something you and I NEVER got when we were their age."

Shego didn't know what to make of it as he spoke. She could only sit there with a partially stunned expression as Max continued.

"Let's face the facts, okay? The only reason we ran with your brothers back in the day was because we were a couple of angry kids out looking for kicks…which is exactly why YOU ended up switching sides and I ended up leaving. We didn't get it. But those two…they're in this life because they grabbed it and HELD ON to it! Because they believe that their names are whispers on the winds of fate! That Destiny DEMANDS that they be brought to this place, that they be who they are, that they do what they do! THAT'S…why I'm back."

"Oh, would you can the melodrama?" Shego responded as she rolled her eyes, "You're starting to sound like Hego, for crying out loud."

"Well, now that's just rude," Max responded, taken aback by Shego's comment, "But I meant what I said. Don't get me wrong, helping them out IS going to be a total blast, okay? But the bottom line is, they're in this game for the RIGHT reasons. And if I can help them out…if that's the least I can do on this planet…Well, that's enough for me."

Shego could only look away, not really knowing whether to be amused or disgusted by what Max had just said. Just then, something else he said before suddenly caught her attention.

"Hang on a second," she piped up, "Rewind the tape. You said 'I' introduced you to them. Exactly how did THAT happen?"

"Well see, that brings us to the SECOND reason I'm hanging around again," Max answered lightheartedly, and Shego could already feel her face turning into an angry glare as she knew she wasn't going to like the answer, "The thing is, Shego, despite whatever friction may have come to exist between us over the years, I have to admit that I still feel a certain obligation towards your well-being. So let's just say I've been keeping an eye on you the last few years. Oh, and by the way, I FINALLY got to meet that new guy of yours a couple nights ago after I dropped you off. You know, your boy in blue? He seems nice. I bet he's funny too. Is he funny?"

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait," Shego interrupted, her anger returning, "You've…been stalking me…for SEVEN…YEARS?!"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself! I do have SOME standards," Max argued, rolling his eyes, "I just keep my ear to the ground, I hear things. Even after all this time, I still have some people who are willing to talk to me. No doubt I'm going to get a LOT of enjoyment watching you try…and FAIL…to figure out exactly WHO they ARE."

At that moment, Shego was through with listening as she jumped up from her chair, her hands blazing! But before she could do anything, Max's hand moved like a blur, whipping his cane across her hands and pinning them to the table!

"Tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch. Oh, Shego, Shego, Shego. In ALL the time we have known each other, WHAT…could I have POSSIBLY done…that would make you think I'm scared of you?" he sighed, shaking his head and looking up at her with a calm smile before his face turned slightly more serious, "Look, the bottom line is this. I'm back…and I'm not going away again. Now…if this turn of events is going to become a source of any personal resentment or animosity on your part…then there's really only one piece of advice I can give…"

"…GET OVER IT."

Shego only responded with scowls and groans as she tried to pull her hands free from under Max's cane. But no matter how hard she struggled, her hands refused to budge. It was as if they were encased in concrete. Max, meanwhile, maintained his calm, rolling his eyes slightly as he reached for his tea and took a sip.

"You know, this whole transition is going to end up going a LOT smoother when you finally realize that I'M not the bad guy here," he stated, placing his cup back on the table as Shego kept fighting to free herself, "Now I KNOW you're not going to believe a word of this. But the reality is, except for your boss or your boyfriend or WHATEVER you want to call him…right now…at this moment in time…I'm probably the only REAL friend you have left in this world."

Shego could only freeze up, staring at Max with a look that seemed to be a mixture of bewilderment and disgust. Did he just call himself her "friend"? Max, however, simply responded with a goofy grin right back at her.

"Doesn't THAT screw everything up?" he hissed wickedly, causing Shego to scowl at him again. But before any more could be said or done, a shrill crash pierced the air as Kim came smashing in through the window beside them! Seeing where Kim's flip was taking her, Max pulled his cane away just as Shego gave a hard yank on her arms, causing her to flop backwards onto the floor just as Kim landed on their table. But Max only seemed interested in the shattered window as he sighed, snapping his fingers. And instantly, the glass shards reformed into the clear pane of glass they once were.

"Okay, point of interest," he noted to Kim, who only stood on the table, glaring down at him, "There ARE ways to make a dramatic entrance that DON'T require someone to clean up after you all the time."

"Speaking of cleaning up someone else's mess…!" Kim shouted, in no mood for any of Max's comments, "Your little friend, Morgan Le Fay or Maria Novak or Maria Le Fay or WHATEVER…She got Ron and she wants me to trade HIM for YOU. So what are we going to do about that?!"

"Wow…that's a little surprising," Max replied with a bewildered look, "She REALLY thought you were going to be that easy to control? Well, that's just silly."

"The point is…!" Kim interrupted, "…since Ron is now caught up in YOUR problem, I just thought you might want to help get him out of this!"

"Uunnh, oh great. That's ALL I need is another thorn in my side," Shego groaned as she forced herself to her feet and grabbed Kim's shirt, pulling her off the table, "Now listen up, Princess. I don't care who this Magica De Spell is that you're talking about! But if any ONE of you has a problem with HIM, then you'd better step back, because the line starts HERE!"

"Oooo," Max replied as he winced at Shego's outburst. Kim, however, surprised everyone when she responded with a simple lighthearted giggle.

"You know…I REALLY don't think I've made myself perfectly clear…," she chuckled, gently placing her hand over Shego's, which still had a death grip on her shirt. But a second later, Shego could only blurt out a stunned yelp as Kim sent her flying across a neighboring table before she even knew what was happening! Once Shego was disposed of, Kim, with barely a pause, whirled back around, grabbing Max by the collar of his jacket and nearly dragging him out of his chair as she glared angrily into his eyes.

"I WANT MY BOYFRIEND BACK!!!!!!"

Max, however, replied simply with a playful smile. Reaching up, he took Kim's wrists between his thumbs and forefingers and gently plucked her hands off his collar.

"I differ to your threatening tone of voice," he answered cheerfully, placing Kim's hands at her sides before standing from his chair and straightening out his jacket as he walked to the door, "By all means, let us not dally in an emergency like this. Let us treat it as a serious situation, one requiring the utmost priority and…by the way you wouldn't happen to know where she TOOK him, would you?"

As soon as she heard that, Kim's eyes suddenly went wide. All this time, she had been so focused on finding Max. All she could think about was saving Ron, but after she found the one person who could help her do that, she finally realized that she hadn't given a single thought to what they were going to do to actually SAVE Ron.

"Well then," Max stated plainly, "This is a problem, isn't it?"

* * *

While Kim was focusing on getting TO Maria Le Fay, Ron was focused on getting AWAY. Placing Rufus down beside him, Ron fired up his Mystical Monkey Power, letting loose on Le Fay's barrier with a thundering onslaught of punches and kicks! The cavern was actually lightly trembling from the force unleashed by Ron's attacks, but against Le Fay's shield, it had little to no effect at all. Before long, Ron began to realize that he was only wasting time and energy, so he powered down, sighing in frustration as he leaned back against the floating sphere that held him.

"Aw man, this stinks! I mean, how is it I can punch out giant robots now and I'm STILL the one getting captured?!" Ron complained with a huff. Just then, he heard Maria Le Fay's quiet laughter as she stepped from the shadows, quite amused with Ron's earlier attempts to free himself.

"If it makes you feel any better, I chose YOU because you were CLEARLY the larger threat," Le Fay boasted, thoroughly enjoying the sight of Ron scowling back at her, "YOUR magic combined with HIS would have been FAR too great a power for ME to overcome if you decided to betray me. At least against Kim Possible, a mere mortal, I have the advantage. Even IF she found this place, she would NEVER be so foolish to attempt a rescue."

Le Fay was feeling quite proud of her judgment at that moment. But just then, she heard a curious sound behind her. Something that sounded almost like…snickering. Confused, Le Fay broke away from her gloating and whirled back around to see that Ron was not only snickering at her, but had now burst into full blown laughter!

"Lady…let me get this straight…" he said between giggles as he desperately tried to control himself, "You…you thought…that you had a better chance of beating KIM POSSIBLE…than ME?!"

That was as far as Ron got before he howled with laughter, much to Le Fay's growing anger. Temporarily unable to speak, Ron could only hold his sides as he felt like his jaw was going to unhinge from laughing to hard. Even Rufus, who had gone unseen the whole time, had lost control laughing and stepped into view.

"Hey Rufus! Can…can you believe she just said that…?!" Ron blurted out before he started laughing again. Rufus, meanwhile was rolling on the floor of the sphere, chattering and giggling. Catching a glimpse of Rufus at Ron's feet, Le Fay put on Maria Novak's heavy glasses and squinted for a better view. But as the vision cleared, Le Fay's eyes suddenly went wide.

"Wh…wh-what…?" she shuddered as Ron and Rufus continued laughing, "What…IS tha-a-a-a-a-a-t?"

"Wh…what?" Ron replied, wiping tears from his eyes as his laughter finally began to calm down.

"WhatisthatwhatisthatWHAT IS THAT?!?!?!" Le Fay stammered, her voice rising to a high pitched shriek.

"What, him? It's just Rufus," Ron answered as he picked him up to give Le Fay a closer look, "He's my buddy. He's…"

"Get that thing away from me…" Le Fay stammered, backing away until she slammed herself into the far wall of the cavern.

"What?" Ron called over as he and Rufus looked at each other curiously, "Come on, it's not a big deal. He's a naked mole…"

"GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!!" Le Fay screamed again, shutting her eyes tight as she swung at the air with her cane, "All of them! Every snaggle-toothed, claw-toed, beady eyed one of them! Just get them away!!!"

"Huh!" Ron blurted out as he and Rufus looked over at Le Fay with confused glances. Suddenly, like a burst of light, the truth dawned on both of them, forcing them to flash each other an evil grin.

"Ooooooooh. Sounds like SOMEONE'S got rodent issues," Ron called out tauntingly as he waved Rufus out in front of him for a trembling Le Fay to see fully. Rufus, meanwhile, simply giggled as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"!!!!" Le Fay finally shrieked, getting the attention of her sand golem, who came lumbering in.

"Milady, I heard your cries. What troubles you so?" it spoke curiously, looking over to see Le Fay huddled behind a stalagmite, shivering in terror.

"…get that…THING out of here…" she whimpered, pointing towards Ron, with Rufus still in his hand, "GET IT OUT OF HERE!!!"

The golem looked in Rufus' direction, frowning and adding a low, throaty growl. The next thing Ron knew, he was shifting his body this way and that as the golem's arms became like whips that lashed out at him through Le Fay's barrier.

"Yee…whoa…I…yu…watch it…AAH!" Ron blurted out, trying desperately to keep Rufus out of the golem's clutches. Unfortunately, he didn't have much room to maneuver when he could only move within the confines of the sphere while the golem was actually able to pass through it. This was exactly like before when Le Fay's staff turned into a snake head that managed to get through the shield when it tried to strike him. But that shouldn't be, unless…what if Le Fay's barrier was designed so that only she and her allies could penetrate it and no one else? This gave Ron an idea. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try.

Hmmm. Two brainstorms in less than five minutes. Better yet, two brainstorms in the same 24-hour period. That HAD to be some kind of record for him. No doubt about it, Ron Stoppable was DEFINITELY on a roll today!

"Rufus, I've got a plan," he stated, reaching into his pocket as the sand golem stormed over to the barrier in frustration, "Here, hold my cell phone. And whatever you do, DON'T LET GO."

"Mm hm, mm hm. Okay," Rufus chirped as he clutched the cell phone tightly. The golem, meanwhile, had now shoved its head and shoulders through the barrier as its arms reached inside.

"In the name of Milady Le Fay, you WILL relinquish that creature, child!" it commanded, reaching for Rufus. Ron however, simply flashed the golem a cocky smirk.

"Oh, you want him?" he responded, grabbing Rufus firmly before shoving his hand, Rufus and all, into the golem's mouth up to his wrist, "Go GET him!"

"Hulph?" was all the golem managed to get out, before Ron braced his arm with his free hand, unleashing a force wave that shattered its upper body and sent Rufus flying across the cavern room like a cannonball. As the golem began to crumble away and Rufus rolled along the cavern floor to safety, Ron was relieved to see his plan had worked. Using the golem's body as tunnel through the barrier, he was able to use his Mystical Monkey Power to shoot Rufus through to the other side. But there was no time for pats on the back. The golem's body was already slowly beginning to reform. And getting Rufus out was just the first part.

"Rufus, go!" Ron called out, "Get out of here! Use the cell phone to call Kim or Wade or SOME-body!"

Rufus seemed reluctant to leave, giving off a series of worried whimpers. But Ron knew this wasn't the time for Rufus to be worrying about him.

"I'll be fine!" he called back to Rufus, reminding him what HAD to be done, "GET KIM!!"

"Uh huh, okay," Rufus replied, bucking up after letting out another concerned whine. But he did pause at the cavern entrance to stick his tongue out at a shivering Le Fay before making his escape.

"Well, that should help even the odds a little bit," Ron stated confidently. Le Fay, meanwhile, emerged from her hiding place, seething in rage at what had just happened. The fact that she was just brought to her knees by such an insignificant…!

"Oh, please," she argued, trying to assert that she still had the upper hand while trying desperately to put the image of Rufus out of her mind, "Even IF that…creature manages to contact ANY-one, do you really think she's going to find out where you are?"

"She's Kim Possible," Ron replied simply, leaning back and crossing his arms as he flashed a knowing smirk, "She can do ANYTHING."

Glaring at Ron's smug grin, Le Fay's first instinct was to blast his body to atoms and get it over with, but she managed to stop herself quickly. After all, nothing was going to be accomplished by that. Instead, she simply took a slow, deep breath, trying to regain her composure. Now was the time to come up with a backup plan.

"Alright…fine," she hissed as she raised her staff, "We'll do this the hard way."

Suddenly, the entire cavern filled with an eerie glow. Before long, creaks, cracks, rumbles and groans began to be heard in the forest outside, causing birds to take to the skies and animals to flee for their lives. And moments later, unearthly moans began to echo throughout the woodland area.

* * *

Kim stood in the coffee shop as Maximillion tapped his foot impatiently, both lost in thought. Suddenly, the unmistakable tone of the Kimmunicator sounded off, instantly getting their attention as Kim immediately answered, hoping that Wade had come up with some way to help.

"Got something, Wa…Rufus?" Kim noted with surprise as the naked mole rat appeared on the screen, chattering in a panic. Unfortunately, he only managed to stay on long enough for just a few seconds before the signal was cut short.

"Rufus? Rufus?! Oh no, Ron's cell phone must have died," Kim exclaimed as she made a fresh call, "Wade, tell me that call was long enough that you could track it."

"Almost…just a little bit more…got it!" Wade announced triumphantly, "It looks like the signal originated from just outside a small forest in England."

"Then that's where we're going. I'll drive," Kim responded, heading for the door. But just then, she was stopped by Max's hand on her shoulder.

"Not that I have a problem with your driving," he stated, tossing Kim a reassuring smile, "But in this case, you're probably better off going with my travel plan."

Before Kim could say anything, she and Max were instantly surrounded by a burst of smoke and glitter. Shego, meanwhile, had recovered just long enough to see them slowly fading into the growing cloud.

"Oh, no. Not this time!" she yelled as she jumped headlong into the haze. A moment later, the smoke had cleared, revealing that all three were gone.

* * *

Kim was trying her best to wave the smoke out of her face as she stepped out into the light. But when she did, she couldn't recognize where she was. It was a wide grassy meadow, leading off a cliff with a small forest below. It only took a few moments for her to realize that Max must have just taken them to where Ron and Rufus were. Max, meanwhile, merely smiled as she turned back to him, playfully fluttering his eyebrows.

"Okay," Kim admitted, "Points for convenience."

"Told you, you were gonna like having me around," Max replied confidently.

"Let's not go nuts," Kim responded dryly before the Kimmunicator got her attention once again.

"Kim, if you think you'll need it, I've finished my work on your Battle Suit," Wade announced, "I've even made a few upgrades to it."

"No offense, Wade, but it might have helped to have known that a few seconds ago," Kim answered, "This is one of those 'day late and a dollar short' sitches, now, 'cause we're…kind of already on our way there."

"Now hang on a minute," Max interrupted dismissively, looking at Wade over Kim's shoulder, "Where're you keeping it?"

"Well…it's here with me," Wade answered, not entirely sure where Max was going with this.

"Not anymore," Max replied, putting his hand on Kim's shoulder once again. Just then, a bright flash caught Wade's attention as he turned around and was shocked to see that the Battle Suit had disappeared! But back in England, Kim gasped as her entire body began to glow brightly from her neck down. A second later, the light faded and Kim was stunned to look down at herself and see that she was now WEARING the same Battle Suit that had just seconds ago, been halfway around the world.

"Whoa…," she blurted out, partly shocked, but also partly amused.

"So NOW what do you think?" Max inquired behind her. Turning back to see him looking more than a little smug, Kim flashed him a suspicious eye, but found herself giving a little smirk as well.

"Well…you're STARTING to talk your way out of the doghouse," she answered before turning back to the Kimmunicator, "Wade, Battle Suit problem solved. Mind giving me a crash course on these upgrades you were talking about?"

"Yeeeeeah…okay," Wade replied, looking very confused as he called up the Battle Suit's new schematics, "Well, after your first fight with Warmonga, I realized the energy catcher was too inefficient against certain types of weapons, so I converted the technology for use on the entire suit. Now any part of the suit can absorb energy discharges and store them…"

Kim was beginning to like what she was hearing so far, but just then, her left sleeve began to grow and shift. However, instead of the energy catcher that was there before, something that looked almost like a small gun barrel began to grow from her wrist.

"I also included a working Proton Cannon," Wade added, "It converts any energy the suit absorbs and allows it to be fired in a concentrated blast."

"I like. Wade, you are just rocking all over the place today," Kim replied enthusiastically. Just then, she heard panicked chattering coming up behind her as she turned to see Rufus running up to her as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Rufus, are you okay?" Kim called over as she knelt down to pick him up. In response, Rufus immediately began jumping up and down in her hands, chirping wildly as he pointed in the direction he had just come from.

"Don't worry, Rufus. We're here now. Now, show us where they took Ron," Kim answered reassuringly as she placed Rufus on her shoulder and was about to head off.

"HOLD IT!!!" a familiar voice growled behind her as Kim and Max turned to see Shego standing just a few yards away, her hands blazing, "No one's going anywhere until this creep and I get some unfinished business settled!"

"Oh, for crying out loud…" Max exclaimed as he rolled his eyes, looking a little annoyed at this point. Shego, meanwhile, caught up in her own anger, fired two full force plasma blasts in his direction! Max could have easily stopped the attack, but before he could react, Kim jumped in front of him, taking the blasts head on! Shego couldn't understand for the life of her what Kim could have been thinking. But as the dust settled, her jaw could only hang open as she saw Kim standing completely unharmed. And not only that, but the blue lights on Kim's Battle suit actually seemed to be glowing brighter for some reason.

"Complete Energy Absorbing Battle Suit," Kim thought out loud, "Oh yes, This I DEFINITELY like."

Rufus, meanwhile, wasn't really in the mood to care about what Kim thought of her new fashions. Jumping up and down on her shoulder, he chattered and whined, pointing off in the direction they needed to go to save Ron. Kim, however, was quick to respond, taking Rufus in her hands and giving him a serious, but comforting gaze.

"Ssshhh…Relax, it's okay. We're going to bring him home, Rufus. I promise," Kim spoke in hushed tones, gently patting a whimpering Rufus on the head before turning to Max…

"Let's go."

"Hey!" Shego cried out, her hands glowing even brighter as Kim and Max were about to walk off, "I thought I told you…!"

"YOU DON'T WANT TO MESS WITH ME RIGHT NOW!!!" Kim shouted back, cutting her off as the Proton Cannon burst from Kim's wrist, pointing at Shego dead on! Staring down Kim's wild-eyed glare and the bright flash from the cannon barrel was enough to instantly change Shego's mind as she put up her hands in surrender. Kim then turned off and kept walking as the Proton Cannon disappeared from her arm once again, satisfied that she'd made her point. Max simply threw in his two cents by offering Shego a cheerful grin.

"Neh neh neh neh nehnehnehneh neh…" Shego muttered under her breath with a sneer as she dropped her arms and trudged off behind them. Kim, meanwhile, kept a wary eye over her shoulder as she walked, moving in a little closer to Max.

"What did you have to bring HER here for?" she whispered. But all she got in response from Max was a shrug.

"…oops?" he replied.

"'Oops'…That's all you have to say," Kim fired back with an annoyed frown as she stopped short.

"Oh relax. She's going to be very useful…Trust me," Max stated, turning around and flashing Kim a playful wink as he kept walking. Kim, however, simply stood with Rufus, both of them showing the same level of concern.

"Why is it every time he says 'trust me', my stomach just ties up in knots?" Kim mused as Rufus stayed perched on her shoulder, nodding in agreement with a worried chatter.

"Welcome to my world," Shego replied, walking past her with an aggravated glare. With that, Kim turned her attention to the situation at hand as they followed Max to the edge of the cliff overlooking the forest. But when they got there, she definitely didn't agree with the sight that awaited her.

Staggering out of the forest below emerged a small army of lumbering, man-like creatures. But they all seemed to be composed of different elements. Some looked like they were made out of dirt, some out of rocks. Some even looked like they were made out of broken trees. Kim wasn't sure what they were. But as they looked up at her and the others, it was obvious what they were made FOR as they let out a unified moan and limped towards the base of the cliff like mindless zombies.

"Huh. Plain vanilla golems?" Max noted curiously, "That's…not much of a defense. But then again, she's probably using most of her magic keeping our boy contained. She'd HAVE to, I guess."

"Something tells me those things don't have to stop us. They just need to slow us down long enough for her to make sure RON is the one who pays for us coming here," Kim replied, as Rufus whined on her shoulder, "Which means we're going to have to move fast. Let's go."

"Mmm hmm, mmm hmm," Shego muttered as she stared out over the valley below, "And what makes you two think I'm going to be the least bit interested in helping either ONE of you?"

"Well, I don't recall anyone ASKING," Max replied simply with a shrug, "I'm pretty sure we can handle this just fine without you. You'd probably just slow us down anyway…"

"Oh please. A pitiful attempt at getting me fired up by challenging my abilities," Shego stated before flaring up her hands and tossing Max a dry frown, "Okay, I'll bite. But after this, it's you and me…GOT IT?"

"Whatever you SAA-aaay," Max replied playfully, rolling his eyes with a cheesy grin. Shego merely flashed a brief scowl in response before bounding down along the cliff and charging straight into the army slowly bearing down her, making it perfectly obvious that she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Moving fast to strike the first blow, she sent a blazing slash straight through the first tree golem that crossed her path, reducing it to splinters. But instead of reacting to her attack, the other golems simply shambled past her, continuing to make their way to the cliff.

"What's the sitch?" Kim was quick to ask, observing what was happening below, "They're just ignoring her."

"Golems typically only follow a simple basic command," Maximillion explained, "These ones were most likeley told to come after you and probably after me…"

"…so WE'RE the only ones they're paying attention to," Kim chimed in, finishing Max's thought.

"You've been getting quite the education on the subject these last couple of days," Max noted as Shego surged ahead, darting around the passing golems and smashing through any that happened to stumble into her way. Within seconds, she had navigated her way through to the other side as she looked over her shoulder to see Kim and Max still on the cliff.

"Have fun! I'll have this wrapped up in a couple of minutes!" she called back up at them. Kim, meanwhile, simply stood with Max, giving Shego a dull stare as she disappeared into the forest.

"She doesn't have a chance, does she..?"

"Not as such, no," Max replied simply, "But…as long as Le Fay is focused on her, she won't be taking her frustrations out on a certain OTHER someone."

"Hmmm…I can live with that," Kim stated with a nod of indifference before turning back to the fight, clenching her fists, "Well, let's not waste anymore time up here."

"Works for me," Max said with a shrug as his body suddenly gave off a soft glow. Then, with a pass of his arm, a wave of earth was sent crashing over the advancing golems, throwing them back towards the forest! Kim could only look on wide-eyed, but as she turned her head towards Max, who only responded with a shrug and a knowing smile, she could only give an amused smirk before flipping off the cliff, slamming a two foot crater into the softened ground as she landed. Then, without a pause, she charged headlong at the recovering golems as Maximillion gently floated to the ground and followed behind her.

* * *

"What was that?! What's going on out there?!" Maria Le Fay exclaimed, hearing the low rumble echoing through the cave from Maximillion's attack on her golem army. Ron, meanwhile, simply gave a confident grin as he leaned back, raising a hand up and gently breathing on his fingernails.

"Yeah, that'd be Kim," he replied calmly as he shined his fingernails on his shirt, following up with a quick inspection, "You know, it's still not too late for you to back out of this…save yourself a LOOOOOT of pain."

"But how much pain is it going to save YOU?!" Le Fay hissed as her staff flashed violently, planning to unleash her fury on Ron, who remained trapped inside her barrier! But before she could launch any kind of attack, an explosion of green plasma ripped through the cavern! And Le Fay was sent sprawling from the force of the blast, much to Ron's relief.

"In here, KP!" he called out as a lone figure stepped out from the haze of dust, "Man am I glad to see…Shego?!"

"Who are you supposed to be?" Le Fay groaned as she struggled to her feet. Shego, however, could only give her attention to Le Fay's suit of armor and flowing red cape.

"Who are YOU supposed to be?" she asked back with a hollow chuckle, "Look lady, maybe you didn't get the memo, but the 'Joan of Arc' look went out of style about 500 years ago."

"Oh, I don't have time for such nonsense," Le Fay said dismissively, calling out to her golem, "Take care of this pest!"

"As you wish, Milady!" the golem's voice echoed through the cave. Suddenly, Shego was swallowed up by a wave of sand as the golem emerged from under her feet, forming around her. For a moment, it looked as though Shego had been effectively dealt with. But without warning, the golem's body was rocked by dozens of plasma blasts bursting out from its body! And seconds later, a giant green wave of energy ripped through the golem, blowing it to pieces and raining sand throughout the cavern as Shego stood triumphantly.

"Oh please…is that REALLY all you've got?" Shego commented, turning to Le Fay with a cocky smirk. Le Fay meanwhile, merely replied with a wicked grin of her own as her body began to glow brightly.

"More than YOU have," she replied with a hiss. Shego immediately put herself on guard, but when Le Fay pulled out Maria Novak's thick glasses so she could see well enough to fight, Shego had to force herself to keep from laughing.

"Oh, this is going to be even easier than I thought," Shego said, already sensing a win.

"That's what YOOOOUUUU thiiiiiiink," Ron mentioned under his breath as he rolled his eyes. But Shego wasn't about to pay him any attention as she charged straight into battle. Le Fay also has in no mood for hesitating as she floated herself off the ground and burst ahead. As the two reached each other, Le Fay's staff came across Shego's slashing strike with a blinding flash and the fight was on!

* * *

Meanwhile, Kim and Maximillion had just reached the tree line as they hurried to make their way to Le Fay's hideout. Their fight against the golems was going well with only a handful left to defeat. And Maximillion was certainly showing some more impressive talents as the battle continued. With a flick of his wrist, he sent one stone golem flying into another, smashing them both into pebbles! His next attack came as he raised his hand, unleashing three force waves that crushed the three earth golems in front of him. Without a pause, he whirled around as a ring of fireballs circled around his hand. And as he whipped his arm across, the fireballs flashed forward, striking a pair of tree golems and exploding on impact, instantly burning them to ash!

Of course, Kim holding her own perfectly well against the golems' assault. She effortlessly cleaved through an earth golem with a forehand chop before performing a quick backflip to avoid a tree golem as its massive limb bashed into the ground where she had just been standing. And without wasting a second, Kim surged ahead, striking the tree golem with a straight roundhouse kick that sent flying into the forest, slamming into the trees and smashing to bits! But just then, something grabbed her arm hard, and swung her around. Kim was quick to recover, but looked up to see another giant stone golem towering over her with a death grip on her arm, preparing to strike. It must have gotten behind her while she was fighting the other two. But before Kim could react, the stone golem just mysteriously stopped, frozen in mid-strike as it shuddered and then suddenly, collapsed into a pile of rock. Meanwhile, Kim noticed her Battle Suit was starting to give off an odd glow. It was the same glow as before, when she used it to absorb Shego's plasma blasts. With no clue what had just happened, she went straight to the Kimmunicator to find out what was going on.

"Wade, analysis time," she stated, "One of these golem things grabbed my suit and suddenly, it just fell apart. Any thoughts?"

"Let me run a quick scan," Wade replied, rattling off on his keyboard, "Well, here's something. It looks like each of those golem constructs is giving of a faint energy signature. It must be what's holding their shapes and making them move. Your suit must have absorbed that energy when it grabbed you."

"Wait…so you're saying, the suit can even absorb MAGIC too?" Kim asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Well, according to THESE readings…it looks that way," Wade answered, sounding just as surprised as Kim. But Kim wasn't about to get ahead of herself. Wanting to put this new theory to the test, she shifted her focus to the last two golems that were left, a stone golem and a tree golem. Charging forward, she leaped into the air, flipping over them both. She would land behind them just a second later as she whirled around, placing her hands against their backs. And as soon as Kim touched them, just like what happened with the first stone golem, the final two froze and quaked before suddenly falling apart into the pieces that created them. Meanwhile, Kim's suit began to glow once again, which was all the proof Kim needed.

"Wow!" she exclaimed with an excited smile, "Wade, you are just rocking with ENCORES today!"

"Well, I hadn't PLANNED for it to work like that…but I don't mind taking the credit," Wade responded with a shrug. Kim, however, despite this new knowledge, had no intentions of slowing down as she looked over at Max with a determined nod before tearing headlong into the forest.

* * *

Back in the cave, Ron found himself having to occasionally shield his eyes from the brilliant flashes as Shego traded blows with Maria Le Fay in a heated standoff. But while neither side was giving an inch, Shego was slowly becoming frustrated that she wasn't gaining any ground against Le Fay, who was matching her attacks with pinpoint accuracy and displaying just enough power to fend her off. In a lot of ways, fighting her was just like fighting Maximillion!

"Shego, she's getting her powers from the staff!" Ron yelled out, not really caring WHO he was getting help from at that particular moment, "You HAVE to get it away from her! It's the only chance you've got!"

But Shego wasn't paying Ron any attention as she jumped back and unleashed a full force plasma blast with both hands! If she was going to win this fight, she was going to do it HER way! But her look of determination instantly turned to one of shock as her blast exploded BEFORE it hit Le Fay, harmlessly striking an invisible sphere she had raised around her body to protect herself. And before Shego could get her head back into the game to launch another attack, Le Fay lifted her arm, rendering Shego's body motionless as it floated off the ground. Shego, meanwhile, could only groan and struggle as she desperately tried to move.

"Well…I'm all warmed up," Le Fay announced before whipping her hand forward and sending Shego flying backwards across the cavern and slamming into the stone wall behind her, instantly knocking her unconscious, "Now…where was I…?!"

Le Fay was feeling quite confident as she turned to carry out Ron's punishment. But her eyes suddenly went wide in surprise as she saw none other than Maximillion, with Rufus perched on his shoulder, standing beside Ron's barrier, rapping at it from different angles as he examined its structure. It was at that moment, that Max noticed Le Fay staring at her as he turned to her and flashed a quick grin.

"Oh hi," he called out before turning his attention back to Ron's situation. Le Fay, however, could only glare as she wrung her hands around her staff. This was NOT the way she wanted her plan to be going.

"You…" she hissed angrily.

"Oh, you might want to seriously reconsider your priorities," Max answered dismissively, still analyzing the shield around Ron, "Believe me, I am the LEAST of YOUR problems right now."

"What?" Le Fay blurted out, unsure of what Max was trying to tell her. Just then, Kim burst from the cavern ceiling behind her, smashing to the ground in a hail of dust and rock!

"KP!" Ron called out, his face smiling wide with a mixture of joy and relief.

"You told me to call when I got him," she announced as Le Fay whipped around just in time to see Kim pointing at her with the wisp flare Le Fay had given her. With a hard pull on the release, the end of the flare exploded in a brilliant flash, lighting the entire cavern! And suddenly, a large ball of light came streaking out with lightning speed, bashing Le Fay hard in the chest and sending her flying backwards into a cluster of rocks that quickly buried her! Maximillion, meanwhile, with Rufus whimpering on his shoulder, continued to look around Ron's shield.

"Hmmm…see, I TOLD you she was good," he thought out loud to Ron as he kept knocking on different parts of the barrier, "I mean, if this thing can contain YOUR powers, that…is a VERY big deal. Fortunately…there is always…a weak point…to a barrier like this. You just…have to look around enough…and with the right counter magic…"

"Uh…excuse me? Not to undermine your authority on the subject," Kim interrupted, gaining everyone's attention as she lifted her hands and wiggled her fingers, "But might I suggest a slightly more…high tech approach?"

Maxmillion put up his hands in concession as he took a few steps back, indicating that he wasn't too proud to get someone else's input. Kim, meanwhile, stepped forward, placing her hands against the barrier and instantly, her Battle Suit began to glow again. After a few seconds, the barrier seemed to be getting thinner and less visible as Kim's Battle Suit continued siphoning off the energy that kept it intact.

"Okay Ron, NOW give it a shot," Kim called out after a few more seconds. Trusting her judgment, Ron cracked his knuckles as he fired up his Mystical Monkey Power, reaching back and then lunging forward with a thunderous punch! And sure enough, the barrier shattered like spun glass, the shards vanishing into thin air as Ron stretched, savoring his freedom. But Kim had other ideas as she smiled and jumped into Ron's arms, the two of them holding each other and spinning around happily before Ron gently took Kim's face in his hands and leaned in, kissing her deeply.

"MmmMMmm," Kim murmured through the kiss with an impressed tone, running her hands up his arms and savoring the moment as long as she could before their mouths slowly parted, "Wow…SOMEONE'S happy to see me."

"Hey, just because I knew you'd find me doesn't mean I didn't miss you," Ron replied with a shrug as he looked into her eyes affectionately. Rufus, meanwhile, had leaped onto Ron's shoulder and began happily hugging his cheek.

"Hmm…I think I may have to take my time on some of these rescues now," Kim said warmly, pulling herself in close and tracing circles on Ron's chest with her finger as she smiled and nuzzled with him, "I kind of like you this way."

Almost losing themselves to the moment, Kim and Ron were about to lean in and kiss again, until they both suddenly remembered that Max was in the room. Turning around, they quickly caught a glimpse of him with his hand over his eyes.

"I'm not even here!" he announced boldly as he flashed a cheesy grin. Kim and Ron, however, simply sighed as they remembered the situation they were still in. Just then, they heard a small clattering of rocks as they looked over to where Le Fay had gone flying.

"Oh boy, look who's coming back," Max added dryly before reaching over to Ron and putting his hand on his shoulder, "And look at you, here you are, not even ready. Come on man, let's get organized here!"

Suddenly, Ron's body began to glow and a second later, he was standing in his mission clothes. Kim had already been through this transformation before, but for Ron it was a very big deal as his eyes went wide in amazement.

"COO-OOL!" he shouted as he turned to Kim with a pleading smile, "Aw come on, KP, can we keep him now, huh? ?"

Kim could only sigh and give an annoyed eye roll in reply. But Max still appeared to be more interested in Ron's wardrobe, looking it over thoughtfully.

"Hmmm, well you know, I like it…it's functional. But it just doesn't POP, does it? It needs something…something…something…" Max mused as he snapped his fingers and lightly pounded his forehead with his fist. It was as if the solution was right on the tip of his tongue. Kim and Ron, meanwhile, only looked at him, neither one of them entirely certain what was going through his head THIS time. Then suddenly…

"I'VE GOT IT!!" Max shouted as he swung around, grabbing Ron's shoulder once again. Suddenly, in a brilliant flash, Ron's appearance had changed again. He was still dressed in his old mission gear, only now he was wearing a white, Spencer mess-style jacket over his shirt. Kim recognized it right away. It was the same jacket that Max used to wear when he was running around with Team Go.

"That jacket saw me through many a super villain in style," Max added proudly, "Something tells me it'll do the same for you."

"Whoa!" Ron exclaimed, "Rufus, check this out! Are we talking snazzy or what?!"

"Oh yeah!" Rufus chirped excitedly, giving an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"I have to admit," Kim replied with an approving nod, "It does look good on you."

But Ron wasn't going to get any more time to bask in his new look. At that moment, Maria Le Fay exploded from her stone burial, her eyes glowing in rage! Kim and Ron could only scowl back as they prepared for the next round, but Maximillion simply offered a lighthearted grin.

"Oh good, the gang's all here. Now we can enjoy our feature presentation," Max announced as he slung his cane over his shoulder. However, Le Fay couldn't help but notice that he was actually walking AWAY from the fight.

"Wait a minute…where are YOU going?!" she shouted as Max waved his hand, causing two pillars to grow out of the ground and form into a small table and chair.

"Oh, me? Yeah, I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy the show," he replied, pulling a cup of tea out of thin air as he looked over at Le Fay with a confident smile, "Trust me, at this point, it's not like they're going to need MY help to take YOU on."

"That's what YOU think," Le Fay answered defiantly as she raised her hand, encasing Kim and Ron inside yet another barrier. But Kim and Ron merely smirked at each other in response before Kim placed her hands against the shield, draining its energy with her Battle Suit. And Le Fay's eyes went wide as Ron used his Mystical Monkey Power and put his fist straight through the barrier with the lightest punch, shattering it to pieces.

"Okay, I know you're a little out of touch, so let me give you some advice. If you want to get anywhere in the super villain game, you can't just keep relying on the same moves over and over again," Kim stated, raising her hand as her Battle Suit's proton cannon morphed out from her wrist, "Every once in a while, you need to come up with something new…like this."

Gasping in shock, Le Fay jumped to safety as Kim fired, sending a white hot beam exploding into the ground in front of where Le Fay had just been standing. But the force of the blast was still enough to send Le Fay flying in mid-jump and rolling along the cavern floor. Ron and Rufus, meanwhile, could only look on in wide-eyed shock before turning to Kim, who simply looked back at them with a confident smirk.

"So what do you think?"

"Okay," Ron stated, still recovering from his amazement, "That…is TOTALLY better…than the tight, tight Global Justice uniform."

"I had a feeling you'd like it," Kim responded, tossing Ron a flirty look as she blew a quick breath across the cannon barrel. Just then, a pillar of sand came flying in, missing Kim's head by inches as it slammed into the cavern wall behind her! Looking over, Kim and Ron immediately caught sight of Le Fay's sand golem, fully recovered with its earlier encounter with Shego and clearly itching for a fight!

"Alright, THIS one's all mine!" Ron called out and Rufus was quick to leap off his shoulder as Ron transformed into his Mystical Monkey Power form and charged in. Kim would have preferred being able to sit back and watching Ron in action, but she soon had other things to worry about as Le Fay came leaping at her with a loud yell. Fortunately, Kim was able to sidestep her as she brought her staff down, cleaving into the cavern floor. But Le Fay was quick to respond as she spun around for another strike, which Kim blocked with her forearm. Le Fay struggled against her for a brief moment, but the power of Kim's Battle suit proved to be the deciding factor as she swept Le Fay's staff aside and took the offensive.

Le Fay's sand golem wasn't letting up for a second, lashing it's arms out as pillars of sand, much like it had done in their first encounter. But this time, Ron was prepared for it as he kept running, striking back with double handed chops and smashing the golem's arms away to nothing. Reaching the other side of the cavern with minimal effort, Ron lunged forward, planting his fists firmly into the golem's chest. But the golem simply smirked as Ron's fists only seemed to sink into its body, doing no damage at all.

"A rash and foolish attack, child. Surely you should have known that a physical attack would serve you little against a body such as…" the golem started to gloat as sand began slowly trailing up Ron's arms, threatening to swallow him whole. But its boast was cut off as Ron looked up at him with a wicked smirk, his Mystical Monkey energies starting to glow brighter. It was at that moment that the golem realized what Ron's attack was truly meant to accomplish.

"…oh no." it whined slightly as it felt its body beginning to quake. This was exactly what Ron had done to the golem when he shot Rufus through Le Fay's barrier. To think that it had just fallen for the same trick twice…!

"I don't like you," it stated plainly, scowling into Ron's grinning face, which had now turned quite smug. An instant later, its body was once again blown apart as Ron unleashed a powerful force wave! Ron would stand triumphantly a moment later, feeling quite proud of himself as he gently clapped the sand from his hands and walked off.

Kim, meanwhile, continued her struggle with Le Fay and neither side appeared to be gaining a clear advantage. Le Fay had jumped to a safer distance and Kim was right after her. Acting quickly, Le Fay caught her by surprise with a triple attack of fireballs, forcing Kim, who was stuck in mid-charge, to take them head on as they exploded around her! But Le Fay wouldn't get the chance to see if her attack did any damage. Just seconds later, another beam from Kim's proton cannon sliced through the smoke that was kicked up by Le Fay's attack. Le Fay, meanwhile, was just barely able to leap to safety as the beam tore through her cape.

But Kim wasn't done yet as she leaped through the smoke, holding a large stalagmite in her hands and bringing it right down on top of Le Fay like a club! Le Fay was just barely able to throw up her arms, forming a barrier to protect herself. But while her shield caused the stalagmite to smash harmlessly in two, the force of the blow still drove Le Fay a full foot into the ground! Kim immediately followed up with a second Major League swing, but again, the stalagmite was no match for Le Fay's barrier and Kim's makeshift weapon was now crumbled into nothing. Still, Kim wasn't about to give up as she lunged forward, sending her fist straight at Le Fay. But even this seemed to do little as Le Fay's barrier stood up to her punch.

"Hah! What good are even YOUR abilities if you can't even strike me?" Le Fay gloated as Kim's fist continued to struggle against her shield.

"Uh huh…You…just keep…TELLING yourself that!" Kim groaned as her Battle Suit began to glow once again, absorbing the energy of Le Fay's barrier. And Le Fay could only look on in shock as Kim suddenly managed to shove her fist through the shield, bashing her hard in the chest. The attack was strong enough to send Le Fay flying into another part of the cavern, but still, it had only been a fraction of its full power. And Kim was starting to find herself getting very frustrated.

"Uuuuh…This could go on all day," she muttered to herself with a sigh, trying to think of a way out of the situation, "If there was just some way we could keep her from using her magic…"

"KP!" Ron called out to her. Kim turned around just in time to see him toss something at her. At first, she thought Ron had maybe found something, but as she caught it and looked down…

"Rufus?" Kim blurted out as the naked mole rat smiled waved up at her. At first, she could only look over at Ron with a raised eyebrow, clearly bewildered.

"She's got rodent issues!" Ron answered, instantly clearing up Kim's confusion.

"OooOOOoooh," Kim replied knowingly, looking over her shoulder with a sinister grin, just as Le Fay came charging back into the cavern with a loud yell. Acting quickly, Kim whirled around hard, flashing her arm out and making sure Rufus was seen loud and clear.

"Hello!" Rufus announced sticking his tongue out at her. Her eyes widening in horror, Le Fay immediately skidded to a stop, cancelling her attack.

"That…thi-i-i-i-i-ng…," she shuddered, almost paralyzed with fright, "Get it away from me-e-e-e-e-e-e…"

"She really DOES have rodent issues," Kim replied confidently as she leaped forward with a flying kick! Despite her terrified state, Le Fay managed just enough presence of mind to sidestep Kim's attack. But Kim managed to clip her in the shoulder with a roundhouse kick right as she landed, sending Le Fay spiraling on her feet.

"Ron!" Kim called over, lobbing Rufus towards him as Le Fay stumbled to escape. Turning around, she caught a glimpse of Ron charging towards her, Holding Rufus straight out in front of him.

"AAAAH! GetitawaygetitawayGETITAWAY!!!" Le Fay shrieked as Ron struck, smashing his fist into the ground under her feet and sending a wave of earth and rock crashing at her. Out of desperation, Le Fay managed to throw up a shield to protect herself and ride out Ron's attack. But as she whirled around to get away from him, a smirking Kim blocked her path, flashing out her arm to shove Rufus right into her face.

"Hello!" Rufus called out again, licking the tip of Le Fay's nose, although he had to gag from the unpleasant taste. At that moment, the color drained from Le Fay's whimpering face as her bottom lip trembled and the pupils of her eyes turned into two tiny dots.

"!!!" Le Fay screamed at the top of her lungs, completely lost in panic! Seizing the moment, Kim lunged ahead, swinging her arm around and chopping the staff out of Maria's hand, sending it twirling through the air across the cavern. Kim immediately followed up with a hard side kick into her stomach, sending flying into a nearby wall.

Le Fay's sand golem had reformed just in time to see its master go down. As soon as the staff was taken out of her hands, the golem could only let out a wailing moan as it crumbled away to nothing. At that moment, it looked as though Kim and Ron had the fight won, but still, they had to be sure as they ran over to where they had seen Le Fay go flying, now hearing only weary groans. Fortunately, who they found was no longer Le Fay, but the freed body of Maria Novak. Even Le Fay's armor had disappeared, leaving Maria laying in the same clothes she had worn when she had fallen into the dig site a month ago, groggily opening her eyes.

"Tch! Told you so," Maximillion said from the sidelines, finishing his last sip of tea.

"Uunnh, where am I? It feels like I've been asleep for weeks" she murmured with a loud yawn as she slowly sat up, but winced as she felt a series of aches in her body, "Ow! But obviously nowhere COMFORTABLE. What's going on here?"

"It's…a long story," Kim replied, unsure how exactly to explain the situation to her, "Ron, could you help her outside."

"Okay, that's it. We don't have to go very fast," Ron spoke reassuringly as he helped a weary Maria out of the cavern, keeping Rufus hidden in his pocket to avoid scaring her again. Meanwhile, Kim was left alone with Maximillion, standing over the staff of Morgan Le Fay.

"Okay, so what exactly do we do with THIS thing?" Kim thought out loud, "I mean, it's not like we can just LEAVE it here."

"Let ME worry about that!" a voice sounded off behind them as Shego suddenly burst past them like a green blur, grabbing the staff and flipping to a safe position! Admittedly, Kim had been too focused on fighting Le Fay to worry about what had happened to HER, but now Kim's eyes were wide as she saw Shego holding the staff, her body staring to give off an ominous green glow.

"Shego, no! You've got to put it down! Trust me, you REALLY don't want that!" Kim tried to warn her before it was too late. But unfortunately, her warning was too late before she even made it as Shego gave out a wicked cackle.

"Oh…DON'T I?!" she hissed as she whirled around to face Kim and Max, her eyes flashing a bright green. Sudenly, her body floated off the ground as Shego, now possessed by the spirit of Le Fay, howled with laughter while green streams of energy swirled around her body. This was the sight that greeted Ron's eyes as he came running in to investigate and immediately winced in panic along with Rufus.

"Uh…I'm gonna wish I didn't come back in, aren't it?" he stated as Shego's laughter echoed throughout the cave, the energies surrounding her getting stronger by the second.

"'SHE'LL BE USEFUL,' you said! 'TRUST ME', you said!" Kim scolded at Max, who simply twiddled his thumbs and rolled his eyes innocently as Shego's power surge continued, "Now what, Smart Guy!"

But Max wouldn't get the chance to come up with an answer as Shego emerged from a blinding green flash, now as Shego Le Fay! Her traditional suit had even been replaced with black and green bladed armor and a flowing black cape as her eyes glowed with menace.

"Ahhhh, now THIS is power. Yes, this body should be more than enough to handle…nng!" Le Fay started to gloat, but was cut off as she clutched her head and staggered back, looking almost in pain.

"Rrrr…! For…GET IT!" Shego's eyes opened to reveal that the glow had mysteriously disappeared from them, "If ANYONE'S gonna smash his arrogant little face in, it's gonna be ME!!"

"WHAT?!" Le Fay shouted as the glow suddenly returned to Shego's eyes.

"Whoa," Kim uttered in surprise, realizing right away that Shego was actually RESISTING Le Fay's control.

"You know, the TRULY scary thing is…this REALLY doesn't surprise me," Ron added plainly. But Kim was already focusing back to the situation at hand as she looked at Max with a stern frown.

"Okay, TELL me you can actually STOP her," she muttered threateningly.

"Well…I COULD say that," Max replied, rolling his eyes once again, which only made Kim more aggravated, "But I think what you REALLY want to ask me is can I stop her without KILLING her."

"WELL...?"

"I really don't think I need to answer that at this point, do you?" Max answered dryly.

"Terrific," Kim responded sarcastically, "NOW what do we do?"

"Well, if it helps," Max answered as he cracked his knuckles, "I'm pretty sure I can keep her busy while you guys work something out."

"Yeah, uh huh. And exactly what are WE supposed to come up with?" Ron complained.

"Oh, come on. You guys aren't stupid, you'll come up with something," Max stated as he took a few steps forward, "And as soon as you do, wait for my signal. You'll know it when you see it. Excuse me, ladies?!"

"Huh?" Shego, or possibly Le Fay, blurted out in surprise as Max strode forward, taking off his sunglasses.

"I'm pretty sure there's more than enough of me to go around, don't you?" he continued with a wicked smile as he eyes flashed bright white! Meanwhile, Shego almost appeared to be divided in half as one eye glowed and the other stayed normal.

"Very well, I propose a truce," Le Fay suggested, "That way we'll BOTH get what we want…"

"…HIS HEAD!"

"Works for me!" Shego answered with a glare. Of course, Maximillion wasn't the least bit intimidated, laughing wildly as a column of white light exploded from his body! But Shego/Le Fay wasn't about to be intimidated either as her body glowed green and surged ahead. Max was quick to respond, charging forward as his cane flashed across her staff with a blinding flash and a wave of pure force!

Kim and Ron could only look on wide-eyed as Max and Shego/Le Fay traded strikes and all the flashes and power that went with it. The way that Shego/Le Fay was fighting, it not only proved that she still had access to all of Shego's powers, but that Le Fay was even making them stronger! But as for Max…no doubt about it, this was at LEAST three times as intense as his fight with Shego two days ago. He hadn't even been TRYING then, but…was he really trying NOW? And if not, just how much power did this guy really HAVE?!

"'You'll come up with something'…What are we supposed to come up with to deal with THAT?" Kim objected as Shego/Le Fay tossed a giant green ball of plasma in Maximillion's direction! But Max flashed across the room with lighting speed and swung his cane hard, knocking the ball right back at her. And Shego/Le Fay barely had enough time to jump out of the way as the ball exploded violently into the wall behind her! Meanwhile, as Ron watched the fight, unsure what to do himself, he suddenly remembered what Le Fay AND Max had said to him over the last two days…

…"YOUR magic combined with HIS would have been FAR too great a power for ME to overcome…"…

…"Give yourself a little credit, kid…You're stronger than you think"…

"Me," Ron uttered, "We come up with me."

"Huh?" Kim looked at him curiously.

"Le Fay told me," Ron explained, "She said if my magic came together with his, she wouldn't have a chance. Maybe if I could get in there, we might be able to…"

"Ron," Kim cut him off, looking at him with serious eyes, "Don't get me wrong, I like that you want to step up in these sitches now, but what do you think you're going to do in there? I mean, look what you're up against."

Ron turned his attention back to the battle as Shego/Le Fay launched another giant plasma ball towards Maximillion. But Max simply smiled as his body glowed, splitting into six different copies of himself giving the one attack six targets to choose from. But now was Shego's/Le Fay's turn for a surprise as well as she snapped her fingers, bursting the ball into dozens of plasma bolts that struck all six of the stunned Maximillion copies, exploding on impact! Shego/Le Fay tried to peer through the smoke for any trace of him, but suddenly…

"Not bad," Maximillion's voice sounded off behind her as Shego/Le Fay whirled around to see him reclining on too pillars growing out of the ground like a chair and footrest, smirking and holding another cup of tea in his hand, "I see you've got Shego's accuracy…"

"…Too bad you've also got her attention span."

"You know, after further observation, you do make a convincing argument," Ron admitted as Shego/Le Fay simply growled and she burst forward, her staff smashing through the pillar Max was sitting on as he spiraled out of the way.

"Look Ron, it IS a good idea, but you can't go out there throwing fists in a fire fight. We need to find another…" Kim froze in mid sentence as an idea finally flashed into her brain, forcing her to slap her forehead before going straight for the Kimmunicator, "Oh, I'm such an idiot! I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner! Wade, theory me!"

"What's up?" Wade replied.

"We need a way to get Ron's Mystical Monkey Power into this fight from long range," Kim suggested, "Based on what we've seen so far, what are the chances we could absorb it into the Battle Suit and fire it off through the proton cannon?"

"Well, it should be no different than any of the magical energies the suit has absorbed already," Wade guessed, "But Kim, we still don't know how strong Ron's Mystical Monkey Power really IS. I don't know if the suit can handle it."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Kim replied as she signed off, looking over at Ron. But Ron wasn't nearly as sure as he looked back at Kim nervously.

"Kim, is this really a good idea?" he asked, thinking back to all the things he had already done with his Mystical Monkey Power so far, "Look, I'm not saying you're wrong. It's just…I don't want you to get hurt."

"Ron, don't worry," Kim answered as she walked up to him, "It'll be fine…"

"…I believe in you."

"Kim…are you REALLY sure…?" Ron uttered, still not showing the same level of confidence. But Kim simply responded by sliding her hand down his cheek, looking into his eyes with a reassuring smile.

"When it comes to us? Always."

Ron couldn't help but smile back as they both leaned in, sharing a soft kiss before Ron took her hand. There was just one more thing he had to do first.

"Rufus, this is gonna get intense," he called down, "You'd better get back. And I mean WAY back."

"Uh huh, okay," Rufus nodded as he jumped out of Ron's pocket and scampered to the far end of the cavern behind them. With that, Ron transformed into his Mystical Monkey Power form, his fingers intertwining with Kim's as they held each other close. Almost immediately, Kim's suit began to glow, even brighter than it had before.

Meanwhile, Maximillion continued distracting Shego/Le Fay, but his next move was something no one could have possibly predicted. As Shego/Le Fay jumped to the far end of the cavern, Max surprised her by actually tossing his cane at her like a spear! But Shego/Le Fay managed to dodge the attack by inches, sending it flying into the cavern wall behind her.

"Wha…are you insane?!" Le Fay replied, "You would so callously throw away the focus of your power?!"

But Shego/Le Fay was so stunned by Maximillion's move that she was too late to notice that the cane hadn't changed back into Merlin's wand. It wasn't until that moment that she saw a thin line stretching from the cane to around the middle finger of his hand. He hadn't thrown it away at all…he was still in contact with it! And Maximillion simply smiled and fluttered his eyebrows before sending a bolt of lightning streaking along the line, striking his cane and blowing out the wall behind Shego/Le Fay! As Shego/Le Fay went flying face first, the line attached to Max's cane snapped back, bringing it back into Max's hands.

Kim and Ron, meanwhile, were focused on their job as Kim's Battle Suit continued to absorb Ron's Mystical Monkey Power. But Kim's suit was now doing more than just glow as it began giving off tiny electrical sparks just as the Kimmunicator sounded off.

"Kim, if you're going to shoot the proton cannon, you'd better do it now!" Wade exclaimed, "The suit can't handle much more! It's going to overload!"

"Let it overload!" Kim argued as she stood her ground, "We're only going to get one shot at this! We've got to make it count!"

As Kim argued with Wade, the fight between Max and Shego/Le Fay continued as her staff crossed with his cane in a struggle of raw power. But Max was about to gain the upper hand once again as he waved his free arm and caught Shego/Le Fay in a small tornado, blowing her across the room and dropping her flat on her face. But as she struggled to get up and looked over at Maximillion's smirking face, Shego/Le Fay began seething in rage and roared as her staff struck the ground, sending a massive wave of green plasma straight at him! Max, meanwhile, appeared to be completely caught off guard as the wave struck him hard, sending him flying back into the far wall and driving a large hole into it!

Kim's eyes went wide as Max's body slumped to the ground. Everything she had observed from him up until that point indicated that he could have EASILY countered that move. Unless THAT was…

…"…wait for my signal. You'll know it when you see it."…

"That's it!" Kim called to Ron, who nodded in response as she threw her fist out. A second later, the proton cannon barrel appeared from her wrist and was already flashing violently!

"We'd better brace ourselves. This thing is probably going to have a real kick!" Kim warned. But Ron was quick to respond as he stamped his foot up to his ankle into the cavern floor, wrapping his arm tight around Kim's waist as he reached over and gripped her wrist.

"I'm pretty sure we'll be able to handle it," he answered with a confident smile. And Kim had to smile back at him warmly before turning back and preparing to fire. Meanwhile, Shego/Le Fay had strolled across the cavern and was standing over Maximillion's limp form, feeling a new surge of confidence.

"So…do you STILL think you have a chance of beating us both?" Le Fay boasted, preparing to strike what she thought was the final blow. But her question drew a very curious response from Max, who only began giggling, followed by a fit of hysterical laughter.

"Do YOU still think I'm actually TRYING?" he laughed, looking up at her with a twisted grin. Shego/Le Fay was confused at first, but it was at that moment that she turned to see Kim and Ron braced to fire the proton cannon of Kim's Battle Suit, the barrel flashing wildly!

"NOW!!!" Kim shouted as the white beam exploded from the cannon, at least four times larger than any of the blasts she'd previously fired! Even with Ron's foot planted firmly into the cavern floor, the recoil of the blast still plowed them at least three feet back along the ground! And at that moment, Kim was thankful in the back of her mind that she had Ron there to support her. Even WITH the Battle Suit, if Ron hadn't been bracing Kim's arm, the blast would have easily dislocated her shoulder.

The attack was right on target, but at the last second, Shego/Le Fay smirked as she threw up a barrier to protect herself! The force of the blast slamming into the barrier was enough to push her back slightly, but it STILL wasn't enough to penetrate it! And Kim could only gasp in shock as the barrier was standing up to the beam's searing power!

"Oh please!" Shego called out, "Did you REALLY think we'd forgotten all about YOU, Princess?! You're going to need something a lot stronger than THAT little water pistol to…oh no…"

That was when it finally dawned on her the trap they had just walked into. Whirling her head around, Shego/Le Fay looked to where Max had just been laying, only to find him completely vanished! Turning back to Kim and Ron, she gasped in horror as Max was now suddenly standing beside them, smiling and waving playfully.

"Hello!" he called out cheerfully as he brought his hand down onto Kim's wrist, lightly pressing his finger against the proton cannon barrel. Instantly, the beam DOUBLED in size as it ripped through the air, shaking the entire cavern with its force as it struck Shego's/Le Fay's barrier, smashing her into the cavern wall! Miraculously, the shield was still protecting Shego/Le Fay from the beam's full power, but the force of the blast was still penetrating inside, pinning her to the wall, unable to move. Feeling as if her body was being crushed by the weight of the blast, Shego/Le Fay shuddered as she suddenly began screaming in pain!

"Max!" Kim called over to him, "Shego…! We've got to…!"

"Not yet!" Max replied, looking on intently and making it obvious that he fully understood the agony Shego was in, "We can't do anything until she drops the staff!"

"But…if she drops it…won't she lose all the magic stuff?" Ron noted.

"Let ME worry about that!" Max answered, not taking his eyes off Shego for a second.

"But…what if…?!" Kim started to say.

"It's okay!" Max shouted, turning to look straight at her, "She'll be fine…!"

"…TRUST…ME!"

Kim couldn't help but notice the seriousness in Max's eyes as he spoke. There was pure resolve in his eyes, not the lighthearted ribbing like there was with all the other times. And he was making it clear that no matter WHAT went down, he wasn't about to let ANYTHING happen to Shego. At that moment, Kim and Ron looked at each other and agreed to put their faith in Max as they gave him a simple nod and turned back to Shego/Le Fay, pouring on the power!

"Almost there…! Wait for it…!" Max called out as Shego/Le Fay continued crying out in pain. Suddenly, her voice began to fade as he body went limp and she began to black out. Losing consciousness rapidly, Shego's grip on the staff began to loosen…and slip…and finally…

…she dropped it!

"THERE!!!" Max shouted as he burst forward, literally charging across the cavern and back with Shego in his arms in the blink of an eye! The barrier had disappeared the instant Shego dropped the staff, but Max managed to carry her out of harm's way just before the beam struck her! Meanwhile, the beam itself tore carved a giant hole through the cavern wall before streaking harmlessly into the sky like a comet.

Kim and Ron crumpled to their knees a moment later, both completely drained from the effort as Rufus ran back up Ron's arm to join them. It took a few moments, but eventually, they both managed to stagger to their feet as they looked over to see Max, still holding Shego in his arms as she groaned and gently opened her eyes to look up at him. As Shego's eyes finally began to focus, her arm shivered as she raised a glowing hand as if to strike him. But the glow quickly faded as she only managed enough strength to lightly glide her hand along Max's cheek.

"I…REALLY…hate your guts…" she muttered to him with a light scowl before passing out again. Max, meanwhile, simply replied with a chuckle as he smiled down at her warmly.

"Awww, someone's gonna sleep well tonight," he said jokingly. Meanwhile, Kim and Ron could only give each other a relieved smile as Ron put his arm around Kim's shoulder and Kim wrapped her arm around his waist. Just then, a low rumbling sound could be heard as the cave began to shift and collapse.

"Aaaand now we're leaving," Max announced as Kim dragged Ron over to him, grabbing his shoulder as they all vanished in a veil of smoke. Meanwhile, Maria Novak was still outside the cave, wondering what was happening, but now gasping in shock as the cave collapsed in front of her!

"Sorry! Sorry!" Max exclaimed, suddenly appearing beside her as he grabbed her arm and disappeared once again. Moments later, the entire cave came crumbling down, followed only by an eerie silence falling over the English forest.

* * *

It was Monday morning and Shego had found herself in the same coffee shop she was in two days earlier. It hadn't been until a couple of hours earlier that she had finally come to. Apparently, Kim and Ron had carried her into Drakken's lair with Max back on Saturday, but Max was once again sketchy with Drakken on the details of what happened.

Looking over, she saw a half read newspaper lying across a neighboring table, opened to a headline that read, "Noted Archeologist Found after Mysterious Disappearance". But all it did was serve as a reminder to Shego of what had been happening the last few days, which was really the last thing she wanted to be thinking about at that moment. Just then, she was interrupted from her train of thought a waiter walked up placing a cup of tea on the table.

"I didn't order this," she said, confused.

"A gentleman ordered it for you," the waiter replied, handing her a folded slip of paper, "He said he thought it might calm your nerves. He also wanted me to hand you this."

Clearly confused, Shego looked around the room for an explanation. Suddenly, her eyes went wide as she looked over to see Maximillion sitting across the room at a table by the window, flashing a lighthearted grin and raising his teacup towards her just as a waitress walked between them. But just then, as the waitress passed by, Max was gone, leaving only the note his note behind as Shego opened it. Although what it said didn't make her feel any better…

YOU REALLY NEED TO LIGHTEN UP.

NO HARD FEELINGS.

-M.-

Shego could only utter an aggravated groan as she crumpled the paper and dropped it to the floor, putting her head down on the table in submission. It seemed that no matter what she may have wanted, Max was going to be here to stay.

* * *

"Hey, heading out?" Max called over to Ron as he walked down the hall. It was time for lunch and Ron was already on his way to meet Kim.

"You know it!" Ron replied as Rufus rubbed his belly and smacked his lips in approval. Max didn't see any harm in seeing him to the door. But suddenly, he grabbed Ron's shirt and held him back.

"What's up?" Ron exclaimed. But Max only confused him more as he suddenly started sniffing the air. Little did Ron know that Kevin Barkin was standing just around the corner.

"Yes…he's here. I can SMELL his contempt," Max hissed with a wickedly amused tone as he turned to Ron, "Hey…wanna try something?"

Barkin found himself growing impatient. Certainly, they both should have reached him by now. Looking around the corner curiously, he noticed that both Ron AND Max were gone. But where could they have…?

"Hey 'Kev'!" Ron called jokingly behind him as he whirled around to see Ron and Max peeking out from a classroom behind him, "Looking for someone?"

"HAH!" Max taunted as he and Ron disappeared in the room, slamming the door behind them. Immediately, Barkin raced down the hall in pursuit, but as he flung the door open, all he saw was an empty room. How did they get out? For that matter, how did they even get IN? There were no other doors leading into it!

"What the…? WHAT MADNESS IS THIS?!?!" Barkin's voice echoed through the halls as Ron and Max walked down the main steps, laughing hysterically.

"Dude, you were right. That WAS fun," Ron chuckled as he gently knocked his fist against Max's as a gesture of friendship before running to the main gates, "Okay, I've gotta run. Meeting Kim."

Unfortunately, Ron ended up spending over an hour sitting at the booth in Bueno Nacho waiting for her. Kim's classes were usually over with by this time, but it was looking painfully apparent that her last class of the day must have run long. Sighing as he propped his head up on the table, he could only turn to Rufus with a somber look.

"Well…looks like it's just you and me today. Wanna order, buddy?" he asked in a dreary tone while Rufus could only whimper in response. Just then, they happened to look over and see a lone figure standing just outside the door.

"Huh?" Ron noted as he raised his head curiously…

* * *

England…

"Bye! See you tomorrow!" Kim called out as she waved goodbye to some of her classmates. She sounded cheerful enough towards them, but as she turned and headed for the front gates, it became clear that she was only putting up a tough front as she sighed and trudged to her car. She could only hope that Ron would forgive her for standing him up. But she hadn't counted on such a long lecture and it would have been bad form to try and call him in the middle of it. Still, despite the valid reason, she couldn't help but feel guilty. It seemed that even with a super powered car, this would be just one of quite a few missed opportunities to come from attending schools on different sides of the world. Just then…

"Hey you," the unmistakable voice echoed in Kim's ears as she walked out of the gates. And her eyes went wide as she turned to see Ron just around the corner, leaning back against the wall, with Rufus waving from his pocket.

"Ron?!"

"I thought maybe I'd be the one to give the surprises today," he replied with a shrug, holding out his hand with a red rose, "Beautiful flower for a beautiful lady?"

"Oh Ron…," Kim was obviously touched by the gesture, but it still wasn't enough to drown out her confusion, "But…how did you GET here?"

"Well, you're not the only one who can call in favors," Ron answered confidently as he pointed upwards, "Let's just say we…hitched a ride."

Turning around and following Ron's hand, Kim looked upward to see Maximillion standing on top of a nearby street lamp. Offering a reassuring grin, he simply gave a stage bow and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kim, meanwhile, could only smile with gratitude as Ron walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.

"You know what? I think I really AM going to like having him around," Kim stated before turning her head to Ron, reaching up and sliding her hand down his cheek as they leaned in and kissed deeply. Max, meanwhile, simply stood at the top of the Big Ben clock tower as he watched the sun setting over the London horizon.

"Ah yes," he said to himself with a satisfied grin, "This is gonna work out juuuuust fine."

* * *

Elsewhere in England…

The forest was bustling with nature's quiet activity. Completely undisturbed, no one would have ever guessed that such a fierce battle had taken place days ago in another small wooded area just a few short miles away. Yet now, for some strange reason, there was a small part of the forest that seemed eerily quiet. Not a bird could be heard chirping, not a single rustle could be heard. There, in a small clearing, a long wooden pole lay in the tall grass, still and silent…

THE END


End file.
